Feel This
by HSMLUVER218
Summary: Gabriella Montez has just moved to Albuquerque and manages to capture the attention of Troy Bolton. Will she let down her guard and reveal her secrets? Can Troy and Gabriella teach each other to feel something they’ve never felt before? Troyella.
1. Albuquerque

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Thanks again to everyone who has been so supportive of me in all of my stories. I really appreciate it. Hopefully you will enjoy this one as much as you have the others. Enjoy…**

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**Feel This**

Chapter One - Albuquerque

_The front door slammed shut as Tomas Montez left the house for the second time that night. Gabriella Montez stumbled from the floor of the front hall to the kitchen. She managed to put together an ice pack to put on her sore skin that would no doubt be forming bruises very soon. While having one ice filled hand pressed against her left shoulder she found band aids for the cuts that had formed all down her other arm. As pain panged continuously throughout her body she placed the band aids gently on her cuts, wincing as they touched her raw skin. _

_Just then she heard the kitchen door creak open and two faces peer round. The two faces belonged to her 10 year old twin brother and sister, Lucas and Lily. _

"_Gabi!" Lily cried softly, "Are you alright?" The pair came walking over to examine their older sister. _

"_Don't worry about me, I'm fine." Gabriella assured them. Lucas touched her forearm gently, causing her in wince in pain. _

"_He hurt you again, didn't he?" Lucas whispered. Gabriella nodded her head slowly. _

"_Gabi," Lily whispered breathlessly, "I'm scared." Gabriella watched as both Lily and Lucas's faces read not only fear but pain. She knew they had been crying, both their eyes were red and slightly puffy. _

"_Don't worry daddy went out, he won't hurt you tonight" she tried to assure them. _

"_But he'll come back" Lucas whispered. Gabriella closed her eyes tightly. She couldn't do this anymore. Every night, since her mother had left them about 6 years ago, when her father came home, sometimes drunk, he would beat his children. Gabriella tried to protect her younger siblings, as it was almost more painful to listen to their cries of pain than to feel the physical pain herself. Now Gabriella was older she couldn't watch their suffering or feel her own suffering any longer._

"_We're going to run away…" Gabriella whispered. She'd been thinking about doing so for a while now. Actually, she'd done more than think about it, she'd found an apartment for them, __withdrawn all the money from her bank account and since it was summer, she'd gotten her transcript from her high school and worked everything out for her siblings. "…tonight." _

_Lily and Lucas looked up at her with so many emotions that it was hard to keep track of all of them. They looked absolutely petrified and yet at the same time they looked so hopeful. _

"_How?" Lily stammered. _

"_I've been planning on it for a while, everything is all worked out. We just have to pack and run" Gabriella explained softly. _

"_Ok" Lucas and Lily agreed together. "What do we do?"_

"_Grab a suitcase each from the hall closet and pack only the really important things. Make sure you bring your clothes first, then some of your favorite things, but only what fits in the suitcase. Understood?" Gabriella explained. The pair nodded. "Now, I want to get out of here as fast as possible, so pack quickly."_

_Half an hour later, Lily and Lucas stood at the front door with their suitcases next to them. Gabriella came walking quickly out of their father's office with their passports in hand. _

"_Ok, you pair have everything?" Gabriella asked. _

"_Yes" _

"_Now listen very carefully. I might have to tell some lies while we're getting to our new home, but I need you two to go along with whatever I say. Ok?" Lucas and Lily nodded quickly. _

"_Thank you. Come on let's go, we have to catch the bus" Gabriella said, opening the front door. _

"_Gabi?" Lucas asked, "Where are we going?"_

"_Albuquerque, New Mexico." _

It had been a little less than a month since Gabriella, Lucas and Lily had run away from their father in Connecticut. They lived in a very small apartment near the town center. Gabriella worked as a waitress in The Albuquerque Diner and as a sales assistant in Borders Books. Working two jobs was the only way she could afford to pay the rent and buy the things they all needed.

Since Gabriella was only sixteen, she was not legally allowed to be the guardian of her brother and sister. If the police found out about it surely they would send Gabriella and her siblings back to their father. So the three of them thought it was best that they lay low. The twins spent most of their day inside the apartment playing. Occasionally they would come with Gabriella to work, but they were content to stay home. However today was the first day of school, so their secret keeping skills would be put to the test.

Since the schools were within walking distance of their apartment Gabriella had walked her siblings to their elementary school. She had managed to enroll both her siblings and herself over the phone so she hadn't needed to prove she was over 18. Luckily all the schools in Albuquerque started at 8 o'clock, so she didn't need to worry about being late to her school.

When the trio arrived at the front of East Elementary School Gabriella turned to her brother and sister,

"Ok, this is it. Now you two be good" she said, Lucas and Lily nodded. "And don't forget to have a bit fun" she added, smiling. Lucas and Lily grinned as they hugged their big sister tightly.

"You'll be ok at your school right Gabi?" Lily asked.

"I'll be fine Lily. Now come on, go ahead" Gabriella watched and waved as Lucas and Lily walked together into their new school. Once she saw that the pair had made it safely inside Gabriella turned and walked down the street a little bit until she came to East High.

As she entered the large brick building she didn't feel quite so confident in the answer she had given to Lily just a few minutes ago. The mass of people felt even more intimidating than her old school. She'd always been the quiet, shy, freaky math girl, so it was more than likely that, that was what she was going to become at this school.

Once she managed to find the main office, the secretary handed her schedule and a small map before waving Gabriella on her way. She studied the map as she made her way down the hallway, looking for her homeroom classroom.

Not really paying attention she began to walk up a flight of stairs to the second floor. Suddenly a piece of paper came in contact with the sole of her shoe causing her to slip backwards. She closed her eyes, preparing for a painful contact with the floor. She knew the fall would be twice as painful for her as it would be for any normal person, because of the number of bruises that still remained on her body, forever scarring her.

However instead of a hard, cold, tiled floor she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist, catching her before she hit the ground. Slowly she opened her eyes to find out who her savior was and her brown eyes came in contact with the bluest eyes she'd ever seen in her life. The boy carefully pulled her up before he bent down quickly to pick the papers she had dropped. When he came back upright he studied her for a few moments as if he was trying to read her mind.

"Are you alright?" he asked kindly, handing her back her papers.

"I'm fine. Thank you though" Gabriella responded softly.

"You're very welcome" he smiled proudly.

"I should probably go. I have to find my class" Gabriella whispered before she started to turn to continue walking up the stairs.

"Wait" the boy said, causing Gabriella to turn around.

"I don't recognize you. Are you new here?" he asked. Gabriella nodded.

"Well then, I should introduce myself, shouldn't I?" he smiled. "Troy Bolton" he said holding out his hand.

"Gabriella Montez" she said softly shaking his hand. Troy seemed to smile a little but more as he heard Gabriella's name. Gabriella tried to ignore the spark she felt between her and Troy.

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**A/N: First chapter!! Whoo!! Haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! I have no idea when I'll be putting the next chapter up, because I'm on vacation visiting my family and I don't think my other grandma has internet, so….that proves to be a problem, but I'll try to put it up whenever I get a chance. But I do have one question for my lovely readers,**

**Should I put little recaps of the last chapter at the beginning of each new chapter or just leave them out? I just wanted to know if you guys thought they got in the way, or if they were helpful. **

**Thanks so much for reading. Please Review!**


	2. You Didn't Tell Me

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter, I'm really glad you all enjoyed it! Most of you seemed to think that the recaps were helpful, so I will continue putting them in! Enjoy…**

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_Last Time…_

"_I don't recognize you. Are you new here?" he asked. Gabriella nodded._

"_Well then, I should introduce myself, shouldn't I?" he smiled. "Troy Bolton" he said holding out his hand._

"_Gabriella Montez" she said softly shaking his hand. Troy seemed to smile a little but more as he heard Gabriella's name. Gabriella tried to ignore the spark she felt between her and Troy. _

Chapter Two – You Didn't Tell Me

Troy had never seen anyone as beautiful as the girl who was walking up the stairs. Her dark curls bounced behind her as she walked and he wished she would look up so that he could see her face, which he was sure would be the face of an angel. She was looking down concentrating on the piece of paper in front of her.

Just then Troy noticed a piece of paper on the floor and as the girl's shoe approached the paper Troy knew what was coming and moved towards her. As her shoe came in contact with the paper she began to fall backwards, but Troy couldn't let that happen to the angel, so he swiftly caught her in his arms. Taking a moment to feel her soft skin, he basked in the radiance of it. Once she realized she wasn't on the floor she opened her eyes and Troy gazed into gorgeous chocolate brown eyes.

Carefully, Tory pulled her upright and being the gentleman he was he bent down to pick up her papers. He studied her for a moment, trying to figure out if he recognized her. Once he figured that he didn't he handed her back her papers and asked,

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Thank you though" she said softly. Troy was already mesmerized by the melodic tone of her voice. He grinned in an effort to see if she would smile,

"You're very welcome." he stated.

"I should probably go. I have to find my class" she said softly, turning to continue up the stairs.

"Wait" Troy said, without thinking. He couldn't let her go without knowing her name.

"I don't recognize you. Are you new here?" Troy asked after she had turned around. Instead of saying anything she just nodded.

"Well then, I should introduce myself, shouldn't I?" Troy smiled. "Troy Bolton" he said holding out his hand.

"Gabriella Montez" she said, taking his hand and shaking it gently. Troy couldn't help but smile as he heard Gabriella's name. It was perfect. Gabriella. As a spark of electricity ran up his arm he wondered if Gabriella had felt it as well. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by his best friend, Chad, who he had been walking with before along with his other team mates.

"You coming?" Chad asked.

"I'll meet you there" Troy answered. Chad and the team nodded and continued walking.

In the time that Chad had interrupted Troy and caused him to release Gabriella's hand, she had looked back down at her map and was studying it again.

"Those maps are useless. They are way too small." Troy pointed out. Gabriella looked up at him helplessly. "Who's your homeroom teacher?" he asked.

"Um, Darbus." Gabriella said. Troy grinned,

"I'll walk you and give you a mini tour" Troy offered.

"Oh, you don't have to. If it would be easier, you could just give me directions. I don't want to cause trouble." Gabriella said, not wanting to make trouble for Troy.

"No trouble at all, it would be my pleasure and besides, I have Darbus too" he assured her.

"Ok" Gabriella nodded, agreeing.

As the pair walked together through the hallways of East High Troy pointed out the important places and explained how the school was set up. It was obvious to Gabriella that he knew this school inside and out. Troy confirmed Gabriella's thoughts by explaining that he had lived here his entire life, he had an older brother and sister who had both gone to East High and his father taught at the school, so he was more than familiar with the school. She also noticed that he seemed to know a ton of people. With each corner they turned there seemed to be someone new for Troy to say hello to or someone who would come up and say hello to him.

On the journey Troy managed to make Gabriella laugh several times. Once he heard her laugh he decided that he needed to hear it as often as possible as it was almost more amazing than her voice in general. But he did seem to notice she didn't talk as much as he girls he was used to. Maybe it was just because he was used to the cheerleaders who never seemed to shut up or maybe it was his mother and sister who once they got started chatting, you could never get a word in edge way. Whatever it was Troy found it slightly refreshing, although for once in his life he wished she would talk more so that he could hear more of her voice.

Eventually they made it to room 218, Ms. Darbus' room.

"Well here we are. Just to warn to you, Darbus is slightly insane, so just bare that in mind" Troy said. Gabriella smiled,

"I'm sure she can't be that bad" Gabriella reasoned.

"Don't say I didn't warn you"

Troy held the door open, so that Gabriella could step through first. She made her way up to the front of the classroom, where Ms. Darbus was sitting in a chair reading a very large book.

"Excuse me, Ms. Darbus?" Gabriella asked softly.

"Yes" the woman's loud, sharp voice said.

"Today is my first day at this school. Where should I sit?" Gabriella asked politely, expecting Ms. Darbus to simply point to a desk near the back of the classroom, but instead Ms. Darbus began what would be a very long enthusiastic speech welcoming Gabriella and stressing the importance of the theater. Finally at the very end of the speech Ms. Darbus pointed to a desk in the back as Gabriella's seat.

She made her way to the back of the classroom as discreetly as possible. After sliding into her seat she scanned the classroom, taking in her new surroundings. However, her eyes quickly landed on Troy. She couldn't help but admire his impeccable body, which made it obvious he was an athlete. His blue eyes had drawn her in when they first connected with hers. Gabriella couldn't deny that she was attracted to him, but she couldn't let herself get close to him. She needed to protect her family above everything else. And besides, she was just Gabriella Montez, surely the jock who seemed to know everyone and was currently surrounded by friends would not be interested in her.

Just then the bell rang loudly through the school, signaling the beginning of homeroom. Students quickly sat at their desk, as Ms. Darbus stood up and began to give yet another speech welcoming back the class.

Like most students in the class Troy didn't have any interest in what Ms. Darbus was saying. While she was addressing students on the opposite side of the room, he turned around to scan the classroom for Gabriella. Upon meeting her gaze he smiled at her. She responded with a shy smile.

Turning back around Troy let his mind drift to thinking about Gabriella. He had only known her for less than an hour and yet he couldn't help but feel this heart flutter whenever he thought about her. She was so captivating in every single way possible and he couldn't imagine meeting anyone more stunning than her. Already he wanted to be the one who was allowed to hold her close, to wipe her tears, to laugh with her, to run his fingers through her luscious locks. He wanted to make her his.

--

Later that day, another bell rand loudly through the school, ending 5th period. Gabriella had just finished her advanced chemistry class and was now gathering up her books. Just as she placed her book bag over her shoulder, the African American girl sitting next to turned to her and said,

"Your explanation on your favorite parts of chemistry was really impressive. I especially enjoyed it as those are my favorite things too. What was your name again?"

"Gabriella Montez" Gabriella answered. She admired this girl's confidence. Never in a million years would Gabriella have the confidence to speak to a perfect stranger unprompted. As she thought back to the class, she remembered this girl's explanation being quite intelligent as well. "And thank you" Gabriella added.

"I'm Taylor McKessie. Are you new here? I don't recognize you." Taylor said.

"Yeah, I just moved from Connecticut last month." Gabriella explained.

"Well, I hope you like Albuquerque so far. East High has a fantastic academic record, if that's what you're into."

"I'm a clutz which puts sports out of the picture, so academics are really my only chance." Gabriella said.

"I know what you mean. I must warn you though, East High has a huge focus on basketball, so there are more than a few lunk-head basketball guys wandering around this place, but I guess I can't complain, my boyfriend is on the basketball team." Taylor explained. Gabriella nodded, understandingly.

"So, what class do you have next, I could see if I could help direct you" Taylor offered.

"Lunch. So just correct me if I'm wrong, the cafeteria is down this hall, then you make a right, go down a flight of stairs and then a left or is it a right" Gabriella muttered trying to remember the tour Troy had given her that morning. Taylor smiled in amusement,

"I have lunch too, we can walk together, I like you." Gabriella smiled.

As the two walked to lunch together, Gabriella got another tour of the school, this time by Taylor. It was interesting to listen to what two different people thought Gabriella should know about. Finally the two arrived at the large doors of the cafeteria. Taylor and Gabriella each pushed a door open, revealing the enormous room, that was loud due to the sheer number of people in the room.

"I think we decided the same table as last year" Taylor muttered as she scanned the cafeteria for 'the gang' "Ah! Yes, there they are." She said once she had located the table. Taylor led Gabriella over to a table near a very large window. She immediately went around the table to give what Gabriella guessed was her boyfriend a kiss. Once she had finished kissing the curly haired boy, she motioned to Gabriella and tried to catch everyone's attention,

"Guys. Guys." Her normal voice wasn't working as a blonde haired girl seemed to be having an argument with a dark haired boy who looked completely confused. "Sharpay! Jason!" Taylor said sharply, finally catching their attention. "Guys, this is Gabriella, she's new here and I think she will be well liked within our group, so I've taken the liberty of deciding that she is sitting with us." The group seemed to nod, accepting what Taylor had just said.

"So introductions, this is Zeke, our resident chef, Sharpay aka drama queen-"

"Hey! President of the drama club!" Sharpay protested. A blonde boy cleared his throat "Ok, ok co – president of the drama club" she corrected.

"As I was saying…Ryan, Sharpay's twin brother and co-president of the drama club, Jason is…well Jason-"

"I'm on the basketball team!" Jason reminded him.

"Yeah you and every other guy at the table" Taylor fired back. Ryan coughed purposely, "Fine, expect Ryan, can I please get through this. Who's next? Kelsi, our composer, Chad -"

"-funniest person to ever walk on this planet" Chad said proudly.

"Sure" Taylor said sarcastically raising her finger to stop Chad from protesting. "And finally, Troy, who, wait, where's Troy?" It wasn't until she actually looked at the empty seat that she realized Troy wasn't present.

"No idea" the group murmured. Just then, Troy came striding up to the table.

"Where've you been captain?" Chad asked as Troy took a seat.

"Had to go see my dad quickly" Troy explained.

"What did he want?" Jason asked.

"He just wanted to give me the new practice schedule for this year." Troy handed Jason a copy of the schedule.

"Troy's the captain of the basketball team and his father is the head coach" Taylor explained to Gabriella. Troy was the _captain_ of the basketball team? Oh wow. With the way Taylor had explained that basketball was important at East High that made the captain God basically. There was definitely no way a basketball captain would have any interest in Gabriella.

Upon hearing his name on the other side of the table Troy turned to look at Taylor and Gabriella.

"Who are you – Brie" His voice seemed to soften as he uttered Gabriella's nickname. He seemed shocked but slightly happy to see Gabriella sitting at the lunch table. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "Not that it's a bad thing or anything I was just wondering how…" Troy began quickly but just as soon as he'd started he began to trail off. The entire table seemed to smirk as they noticed Troy nervousness.

"Taylor started talking to me in our advanced chemistry class and she brought me here." Gabriella explained. "You didn't tell me you were the captain of the basketball team."

"Must have slipped my mind and besides you didn't tell me you were a super genius" Troy grinned. Gabriella smiled as a faint blush crept up her cheeks.

"Wait, you guys know each other?" Sharpay interrupted unable to stand the confusion among the group.

"Well, since this morning." Troy said.

"Oh! How could I forget? She's the girl you caught before she fell down the stairs" Chad recalled. The entire table looked to Troy and Gabriella for confirmation. The two gave a small nod of the head to confirm. Jason, Chad, Zeke and Ryan smirked as Sharpay, Kelsi and Taylor just smiled. Troy gave a small, yet meaningful smile to Gabriella, who managed to smile back. This exchange did not go unnoticed by Taylor who turned to Sharpay to whisper,

"Looks like Mr. None-of-the-girls-at-East-High-are-for-me has finally found one he likes"

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**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that chapter. Sorry for the delay, I've been in Northern Ireland for the past week and we have no internet. But thank you so much for reading and please review. **

**This chapter is dedicated to those who lost their lives in the horrific plane crash at Madrid Airport. I was supposed to fly into Madrid on Wednesday but our trip was cancelled due to the accident. It left me shaken because it shows you just how quickly things can go from being great to completely horrifying in a matter of moments. My thoughts are with those who lost family and friends in the crash. **


	3. Life Is Never Black and White

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Thank you so much for all your reviews so far! This chapter is kind of a setting up chapter, but I think I managed to put some cute Troyella moments in. Enjoy…**

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_Last Time…_

"_You guys know each other?" Sharpay interrupted unable to stand the confusion among the group. _

"_Well, since this morning." Troy said. _

"_Oh! How could I forget? She's the girl you caught before she fell down the stairs" Chad recalled. The entire table looked to Troy and Gabriella for confirmation. The two gave a small nod of the head to confirm. Jason, Chad, Zeke and Ryan smirked while Sharpay, Kelsi and Taylor just smiled. Troy gave a small, yet meaningful smile to Gabriella, who managed to smile back. This exchange did not go unnoticed by Taylor, who turned to Sharpay to whisper,_

"_Looks like Mr. None-of-the-girls-at-East-High-are-for-me has finally found one he likes"_

Chapter Three – Life Is Never Black and White

Over the next two weeks Lily, Lucas and Gabriella managed to fall into a routine. On weekdays Gabriella would get up at 6 to take a shower and get herself ready for school. Then she would make lunches for all three of them. At 6:45 she would wake up Lucas and Lily. While Lucas and Lily got themselves dressed Gabriella would organize any sort of paperwork or anything that either the twins or she needed for school. At 7 the three of them would all sit down for breakfast which usually lasted 15 minutes. By 7:20 they needed to be out the door for their 20 minute walk to school. This left enough time for the twins to be a school 20 minutes early and Gabriella 15 minutes.

After school, Gabriella would meet Lucas and Lily at the front gates and the three would walk home together, except on Wednesdays. Lucas had joined a basketball club and Lily had joined an art club which coincidently both met afterschool for an hour on Wednesday. So on those days Gabriella would stay in the library for an hour after school and then walk over at 4 to get the twins.

Once the three arrived home, Gabriella had to go out to work most days, so the twins worked on their homework and entertained themselves. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays Gabriella worked as a waitress at the Albuquerque Diner from 4 until 7 while on Wednesdays she worked at Borders Books from 5 until 7. By the time she got home it was close to 7:30, they usually had dinner at 8. The three ended up sitting at the dinner table for quite some time, even after they had finished their dinner, just chatting about school and things. Between 9 and 9:30 Lucas and Lily headed to bed. Once they were asleep Gabriella started her pile of homework, which was usually quite large because she took so many advanced classes. On a very light homework night she would finish at 11, but most nights she was up past midnight.

The weekends were a whole different ball game. On Saturday Gabriella would be up early again to work at the diner from 7 until 11. The twins weren't up when Gabriella left for work, so they would spend some of the time she was out asleep and the other part watching Saturday morning cartoons. On Saturday afternoon the three went out to run errands, most of which consisted of food shopping. Saturday evening the three just spent time together, enjoying the peace and the presence of their loved ones.

On Sunday mornings Gabriella worked on her weekend homework, which again caused her to get up early. In the afternoon she worked at Borders Books from 1 until 5. When she got home the three had an early dinner and unless Gabriella had extra homework to finish they would play a game or rent a movie to watch together.

Although of nights when Gabriella wasn't up late working on homework she tried to go to bed early, she was beginning to feel the strain of it all.

--

Gabriella sat in the library after school one Wednesday, working on her calculus homework. Most people just assumed that since she loved science she would like math too, but truth be told, she hated math. She was very good at it but she hated it with a passion, it was much too black and white for her. She much preferred literature and writing. Her concentration was interrupted by Troy sitting down across from her.

"So this is where you go every day after school." He said. The pair had grown close, well as close as Gabriella would let him, over the past two weeks. They spent a lot of their time in school together, talking and laughing mostly.

"Just on Wednesdays" she answered, looking up at him.

"Why just Wednesdays?" Troy asked curiously.

"Because I'm busy other days." Gabriella explained looking down at her book. She could feel Troy's eyes burning a hole through her head so she looked back up at him,

"So, what are you doing here anyway? Don't you have practice?"

"Nope, it was cancelled today. I have no idea why but I'm glad of it. We've had practice until 5 every day since school started. I think we deserved a break." Troy explained.

"I think so too" Gabriella smiled. She looked back down at her book and continued to work on her calculus homework. He watched in awe as she furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to figure something out. Troy leaned over the table to see what she was doing. He didn't mean for his face to get as close to hers as it did, but he couldn't deny that he didn't enjoy the feeling. He stared intently at her, watching as she scribbled some numbers down. He'd never been this close to her and the desire to kiss her was stronger than it had ever been. Truth be told he was ok with doing so but he just wondered if she wanted to as much as he did.

"Math. Fun…" He said sarcastically, once he realized he had been staring for a while. Gabriella looked up and was a little taken back by how close his face was to hers. She'd be lying if she said that she didn't like the feeling of his hot breath on her face. She'd be lying if she said she hated gazing into his ocean deep eyes. She'd be lying is said she didn't enjoy him being this close. And yet she was too scared to act upon her feelings. She swallowed hard,

"Yeah, not my favorite" she admitted.

"Really?" Troy sounded surprised.

"Yeah. I hate math." Gabriella said bluntly. Troy moved back and took his seat, cocking his head to one side, looking completely dumbfounded.

"What?" Gabriella asked.

"I just thought since you're so good at it-" Troy began

"I would love it? Naw, it's too black and white. And nothing in life is ever black and white. It's always so much more complicated." Gabriella explained. Troy watched as Gabriella's face softened and almost looked sad. There was a silence for a while as Gabriella seemed to be thinking about something. Her eyes showed a sadness that Troy was beginning to see more and more often. He hated seeing her so sad and needed to figure out why and stop it.

"Well you're lucky that you're at least good at it, because I hate it and I suck at it." Troy said changing the subject.

"I could help you" Gabriella said quickly without thinking.

"Really? Like tutor me afterschool?" Troy clarified.

"Sure" That wasn't actually what she had meant, but she couldn't turn Troy down. He had been so kind to her.

"Great. Can we start today? You can come over to my house." Troy offered. Gabriella began to panic, she hadn't planned this.

"Um, why don't we just stay here? I have to go work at 4" Gabriella explained. Troy looked slightly disappointed but still agreed.

--

Half an hour later when Gabriella and Troy were still sitting together in the library Gabriella glanced up at the clock. 4:15.

"Crap" Gabriella muttered standing up quickly to scramble together all her things.

"What's wrong?" Troy asked, looking up Gabriella.

"I have to go. I'm late. I'm late. I have to go. I'm sorry" she babbled frantically. Troy stood up and placed his hand on her upper arm in attempt to calm her from her frenzy.

"Hey" Troy said gently. "I can drive you. I'm sure your boss mind if you're a bit late"

"No" Gabriella said quickly. "I mean – I'm sorry, I just – they – I – I just have to go. I'm sorry"

Gabriella placed her bag over her shoulder and practically ran out of the library. Troy watched as she disappeared from his view. Why had she turned down his offer so quickly? Who were 'they'?

--

Gabriella arrived at East Elementary a few minutes later, completely out of breath – she had run the entire way, terrified that something had happened to Lucas and Lily. Thankfully she found both of them sitting on the brick half wall chatting happily.

"Sorry, I'm late." Gabriella panted. "I got caught up with Troy"

"It's ok Gabi, we were fine here" Lucas assured her, hopping down from the wall just as Lily had moments before him.

"Good. Come on let's go home" Gabriella held out her hands and each twin took one.

"So who is this Troy guy?" Lily asked curiously.

"He's just a friend of mine" Gabriella explained.

"Wait. Troy as in Troy Bolton?" Lucas questioned slowly

"Yeah. How'd you know that?"

"You know Troy Bolton?" Lucas asked excitedly. Gabriella nodded.

"No way! He is like the god of basketball and his dad runs the basketball after school thing." Lucas threw his arms up in excitement as he explained.

Gabriella laughed, ruffling Lucas' hair.

"Are you sure he's just a friend?" Lily asked skeptically. When Gabriella had said Troy's name Lily saw something in her older sister's eyes that she hadn't seen in long time.

"Just a friend" Gabriella said firmly. Lily trusted that Gabriella was telling the truth, but she wasn't sure of was whether or not Gabriella wanted to be more than friends with Troy. Was she holding back because of them?

--

Later that evening, Gabriella was putting new books on the shelves at Borders. She hummed quietly as she did, just to help pass the time. Even though it was only two hours she was away on Wednesday she was always thinking about her brother and sister, worrying about them. She hated the fact that she had to leave them so often, but she didn't have a choice, they needed the money.

Once she had finished putting a set of books on the shelf she bent slowly down to pick up the box that was filled with other books to be put away. It was then that a wave of sleepiness came over her and she let out a long sigh as she stood back up.

"That quite some sigh Brie" Troy observed. Gabriella jumped; she hadn't seen Troy come around the bookshelf.

"God Troy, you scared me" Gabriella exhaled. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"My mom sent me to get a Jodi Picoult book for my sister's birthday." Troy explained holding up The Pact.

"That's good book, your sister will like it" Gabriella said.

"That's good. So you work here? I thought you said you worked at the diner." Troy asked.

"I work here as well" Gabriella answered.

"You work two jobs?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, the diner would only give me a part time job so I work here part time too." She explained.

"That's a lot isn't it?" Troy pointed out moving towards Gabriella.

"I guess but it's ok" Gabriella said softly.

"Why?" Troy asked, placing his hands on the box that was currently balanced on Gabriella's hip.

"Why do I work two jobs or why is it ok?" Gabriella asked looking up at him.

"Both" Troy said simply taking the box from Gabriella.

"It's complicated, but like I said before nothing in life is ever black and white" Gabriella whispered, looking down at the floor.

"But is it worth it if it's that complicated Brie?" Troy asked, lifting her chin up with his finger.

"It's more than worth it" she said. Unable to meet his strong gaze for much longer she turned her head away. In fear that he would ask more questions she once again changed the subject,

"I have to finish putting these books away" she said.

"What time do you finish here?" Troy asked.

"7" Gabriella answered. Troy looked down at his watch; it had just turned 7 now.

"It's 7 now. I'll go pay for this then I could drive you home" Troy offered.

Gabriella froze, how was she supposed to deny this offer?

* * *

**A/N: Uh Oh, how's Gabriella going to get out of this one? Hopefully I'll get the next chapter up soon. My goal is to before school starts back up next week, but we'll see. Please review!**


	4. I Wonder

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: I'm so it's been a while. I've had the worst writers block. Hopefully it's ok. Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

"_I have to finish putting these books away" she said. _

"_What time do you finish here?" Troy asked. _

"_7" Gabriella answered. Troy looked down at his watch; it had just turned 7 now. _

"_It's 7 now. I'll go pay for this then I could drive you home" Troy offered. _

_Gabriella froze, how was she supposed to deny this offer?_

Chapter Four – I Wonder

"I actually will probably be staying a little later, I have to, um, put these books away before I leave. So you don't have to" Gabriella lied.

"Oh" Troy said dejectedly. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah" Gabriella said softly. Troy nodded slowly, handing her back the box of books.

"Bye Brie" he whispered, as he turned around to begin to walk to the cash register.

"Troy" Gabriella said, grabbing his attention. He turned his head back to look at her. "I really wish you could take me home, I really do and I hope you know that" Troy smiled slightly and nodded, before he turned around and walked to the cash register.

Gabriella sighed as she watched Troy leave. It hurt her, lying to him like this. But she couldn't risk him knowing. Inhaling, she walked to the next bookshelf to continue putting books away.

After Troy had paid for the book, he made his way out of the book store feeling confused most of all. He believed that Gabriella would stay to put away the books, but what he didn't believe was that, that was her original intention. He was sure there was something that he was missing, something she was keeping from him. He promised himself that he would find out what it was.

--

The next day, Gabriella entered East High, with a pain in her heart that only grew stronger on this day. Today was the day her mother left them, 7 years ago. She remembered it with perfect clarity. She could still hear the front slamming as her mother walked out of the house. She could remember the sound of her father smashing his fist into the wall. She winced at the thought of the first time her father came upstairs to beat her. She could hear his voice screaming at her, telling her it was her fault. His harsh words rang over and over in her head, _"It's your fucking fault, your mother left! It's all on your shoulders! Do you understand me?" _

It was on that day that her life changed forever and she began to carry around debts that would never be lifted from her shoulders. Gabriella fought back tears as she walked through the hallways of East High, not really paying attention to where she was headed. Soon, it became too much for Gabriella to handle, her father's cruel words were ringing louder than ever in her head. She grabbed the handle of the nearest door and escaped into the tranquility of the classroom.

Closing the door behind her, Gabriella slid slowly down the back of the door, tears beginning to flow from her eyes. She let out a heartbreaking sob as the pain in her heart grew stronger, as the wounds from her childhood opened up again. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to calm the waterfall of tears that continued to fall from her eyes.

As the tears began to slow, she looked around the room to see where she was. In front of her was a grand piano, there were a great assortment of other instruments, but Gabriella's eyes could not be drawn away from the piano. On this day, 7 years ago, she sang for the last time. She used to sing all the time; it used to be her favorite thing to do.

Wiping away some tears, Gabriella slowly stood up and made her way over to the piano. Gingerly, she let her fingers skim over the cool wood of the piano. Arriving at the keys she let her hands run silently over the black and white keys. Slowly, she lowered herself onto the bench that was placed just in front of the piano. Placing her hands carefully on the keys she pressed down gently and melodic tone of the piano filled the room.

Gabriella pressed the keys again and let the beginning of a melody fill the room. Closing her eyes, she let the tune fill her, reach deep down into the deepest wounds her heart and she began to sing.

_Sometimes I think about you  
Wonder if you're out there somewhere thinkin' 'bout me_

Her voice was timid and soft, but the words that she was conveying were strong and powerful.

_And would you even recognize the woman that your little girl has grown up to be  
'Cause I look in the mirror and all I see are your brown eyes lookin' back at me  
They're the only thing you ever gave to me at all_

She closed her eyes and as she pictured her mother's face tears leaked out of her them.

--

Kelsi and Taylor walked down the hallway together, chatting loudly, so they could hear each other over the other conversations of students in the same hallway.

"I seriously cannot believe how much homework Porter gave us last night, it took me forever." Taylor said exasperatedly.

"I know, tell me about it. I was-" Kelsi suddenly cocked her head to one side.

"Kelsi?"

"Shhh. Listen" Kelsi said quietly, holding up her finger.

_Sometimes I think about you  
Wonder if you're out there somewhere thinkin' 'bout me_

The voice floated through the air very faintly and Taylor and Kelsi looked at each other curiously. Kelsi motioned her head for Taylor to follow. The girls followed the voice down the hallway a bit, until they came to the music room.

_And would you even recognize the woman that your little girl has grown up to be  
'Cause I look in the mirror and all I see are your brown eyes lookin' back at me  
They're the only thing you ever gave to me at all_

They peered inside glass of the door and watched as a dark-haired girl played the piano, effortlessly. Her head was bowed and turned slightly away from them, so they couldn't make out who it was. But once the girl turned slightly, both Taylor and Kelsi gasped.

"Oh. My. God." Taylor said slowly. "That's Gabriella."

"It is" Kelsi confirmed.

"That girl can sing" Taylor noted.

"Yeah and she's playing" Kelsi pointed out.

"Who are you guys spying on?" Sharpay suddenly demanded, coming up behind the girls.

"Jeez, Sharpay, warning would be nice, before you almost caused us both heart attacks." Taylor said, holding her hand over her heart, Kelsi nodded in agreement.

"Sorry, but who's that singing, whoever it is they're really good."

"Take a look" Kelsi whispered, moving away from the door so that Sharpay could take a look.

Sharpay whipped her head around with an overly dramatic look of shock on her face.

"Gabriella! We need this girl in our musicals! She's fantastic!" Sharpay exclaimed. "Let's go talk to her!"

"No, wait. Listen. She's not singing out of joy, she's singing out of pain" Kelsi said softly.

_I think about how it ain't fair that you weren't there to braid my hair like mothers do  
You aren't around to cheer me on  
Help me dress for my high school prom like mother's do_

Gabriella felt tears continue to run down her face, revealing the true depth of her pain.

_Did you think I didn't need you here to hold my hand, to dry my tears  
Did you even miss me through the years at all? _

"Her mom died?" Sharpay asked. Kelsi shook her head,

"I don't think so"

"You don't think…" Taylor trailed off as they could hear Gabriella's singing getting louder and more passionate. _  
_  
_Forgiveness is such a simple word  
But it's so hard to do_

Unable to contain her emotions anymore, Gabriella could only manage to whisper the next line of the song, through a strong current of tears.

_When you've been hurt_

Gabriella's head collapsed into her hands. She placed one of her hands over her heart, as if she was trying to prevent her heart from falling out, while she let out a loud painful sob. Her breathing was uneven and shaking as her chest rose and fell violently. After all these years her mother leaving still hurt Gabriella as much as it did the night she left.

Kelsi, Taylor and Sharpay watched in agony as Gabriella cried at the piano.

"Why didn't she tell us?" Sharpay asked, turning away from the scene.

"It's not something you just blurt out to people. It's probably hard for her to tell people" Kelsi pointed out.

"So what do we do now?" Taylor asked. The two other girls shook their heads,

"I have no idea" Kelsi whispered.

Just then the warning bell sounded, ringing loudly throughout the school. Kelsi, Sharpay and Taylor quickly moved back down the hallway, so that Gabriella wouldn't see that they had been watching.

Gabriella sat up straight at the piano suddenly. She frantically tried to wipe away her hot tears and calm herself down. After the tears stopped and were all wiped away, she straightened her clothes and ran her fingers through her hair quickly.

Taking a deep breath Gabriella stood up and walked to the door, opening it, she walked through back into the noisy hallway of reality.

She managed to move through the hallways without anyone noticing her. She arrived at her homeroom quickly and took her seat in the back. Just as she slid down into her seat Troy and his basketball buddies walked into homeroom.

When Troy locked eyes with Gabriella it became obvious to him that she had been crying. Her face was pale and she had faint red patches around her eyes which were signs that she had been crying. She looked down, focusing her attention on her planner in front of her.

Troy's promise to himself of finding out what was going on with Gabriella was looking like it was going to be more confusing and harder than he had expected. She was hiding some deep feelings that Troy figured weren't going to come out easily.

--

It just so happened that both Troy and Gabriella had free period 3rd period. Just as 3rd period was beginning Gabriella stood at her locker, putting away her books. Satisfied that she was finished she shut her locker, only to find Troy leaning against the locker next to hers. She jumped slightly as he had been hidden by the locker door, but she managed to smile.

"I missed you at your locker this morning" Troy said.

"I guess I was a little distracted this morning, I never actually went to my locker. Sorry about that" Gabriella explained as the pair began to walk down the hallway.

"I want to show you something" Troy said, "Come with me" he grasped Gabriella's hand in his and led her through the halls, until they reached a door at the end of a hallway. Troy looked around to make sure no one was watching and then opened the door and pulled Gabriella in. Panicking slightly, Gabriella pulled back a little bit,

"What are you doing?" she asked her voice full of terror. Troy looked her genuinely in the eyes,

"Just trust me, I promise you'll like it" He squeezed her hand gently. Gabriella closed her eyes and followed Troy up the stairs. As they ascended the stairs the pair came to a beautiful rooftop filled with plants and flowers. Gabriella looked around in awe,

"It's so beautiful" Gabriella whispered. "How did you find this?"

"Let's just say it's a special Bolton family secret. I come up here when I need to think or just to relax. Feel free to use it whenever you need" he explained. Gabriella smiled,

"Thank you Troy." Gabriella walked to the small bench on one side of the rooftop and took a seat. She closed her eyes gently as the soft breeze swept past her. When she opened her eyes Troy sat next to her with a small flower in his hand.

"Do you know what type of flower this is?" he asked gently. Gabriella shook her head, she had seen the small pink flower before but did not know its name.

"It's a freesia. It's symbolizes trust. I want to you know that you have my trust and I hope that I have yours." Troy explained. "I think we should play a game. Since there are 6 petals, each of us gets to ask the other person three questions"

Gabriella nodded, "You go first"

"What's your favorite thing about Albuquerque?" Troy asked.

"School" Gabriella said simply.

"Why is that?"

"Because as much as I like being at home, I'm not as busy at school as I am at home." She explained. Troy hadn't expected that answer; usually it was the other way around for people. Home was supposed to be somewhere to relax.

"That counted as two you know" Gabriella reminded him.

"What?" Troy asked incredulously.

Gabriella smiled, "I'm kidding, that can be one. My turn."

"Tell me something no one knows about you."

Troy thought for a moment before answering the question, "I can sing" he said. Gabriella grinned.

"Basketball captain and singer, don't tell me you're an amazing cook as well"

"Just peanut butter and jelly sandwiches" Gabriella laughed.

"Why did you move here?" Troy asked.

"I didn't have a choice" she answered simply.

"Why does no one know you can sing?" She asked. Troy was taken back by her question, he had never really thought about the answer.

"Um, I guess it never came up" Troy said. Gabriella raised her eyebrow. "Ok, I guess people have always known me as the basketball guy, not the singing guy. I don't think they would let me do both" Troy explained.

"It's not whether _they _would let you, it's whether _you_ want to" Gabriella whispered.

"Since you've been asking me hard questions, here's a harder one for you. What's you greatest regret?"

Gabriella leaned back on the bench, trying to think of her answer. There was only one answer that came to mind, and she didn't really want to say it, but the way Troy was looking at her didn't leave her a choice,

"Not being good enough" she whispered sadly. Troy watched Gabriella carefully as an intense pain burned in her eyes; he couldn't help but feel this heart break.

"Brie" Troy whispered slowly. Gabriella looked up at him, trying to fake a smile. She changed the subject immediately.

"It's my turn, if you had only one day left to live, what would you do?"

"I would spend it with the people I love most, laughing with them, having the time of my life" Troy explained simply. Gabriella smiled,

"I would do the same thing" she said softly. Troy grinned and held out the flower out for Gabriella to take,

"For you" he said. Gabriella fingered the delicate flower in her hands before deciding she wanted it in her hair. Breaking off most of the stem, she began to try and put it near her ear. Seeing that she was having difficulty, Troy took the flower from her fingers,

"Allow me" he whispered. Troy moved closer to Gabriella and tucked the flower just above Gabriella's ear in her thick, dark curls. Satisfied that the flower was placed correctly Troy let his hand brush a strand of hair that had fallen, covering part of her face, out of the way. Looking up at him, Gabriella smiled softly. Troy gazed down at her as he slowly started to move his face closer to hers.

Just as Troy's face was inches away from Gabriella's the bell rang loudly. Gabriella removed her gaze from Troy's, looking down at the tiled floor. She stood up, grabbing her books and turned to Troy,

"I have to run, I'll see you during lunch, but thank you." She said. Troy nodded as he watched Gabriella descend the stairs.

Stupid Bell.

**A/N: So….what did you think? Once again, I have no idea when I'll update again, I'll try to make it soon, but since the school year has started my life is unpredictable. Please Review! Thanks for reading!**

**The song I used was I Wonder by Kellie Pickler. I changed it a little bit and omitted the choruses, but you should listen to it, it's such a heartfelt, beautiful song. I'll put a link in my profile. **


	5. Just Stop

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: As always thank you for the wonderful reviews! If you haven't already heard the new HSM3 song, 'Can I Have This Dance' – the duet between Troy and Gabriella, listen to it NOW! Open a new window and listen to it, then of course come back to reading this, but seriously it's a beautiful song! I can't stop listening to it! Enjoy…**

* * *

_Last Time…_

"_For you" he said. Gabriella fingered the delicate flower in her hands before deciding she wanted it in her hair. Breaking off most of the stem, she began to try and put it near her ear. Seeing that she was having difficulty, Troy took the flower from her fingers,_

"_Allow me" he whispered. Troy moved closer to Gabriella and tucked the flower just above Gabriella's ear in her thick, dark curls. Satisfied that the flower was placed correctly Troy let his hand brush a strand of hair that had fallen, covering part of her face, out of the way. Looking up at him, Gabriella smiled softly. Troy gazed down at her as he slowly started to move his face closer to hers. _

_Just as Troy's face was inches away from Gabriella's the bell rang loudly. Gabriella removed her gaze from Troy's, looking down at the tiled floor. She stood up, grabbing her books and turned to Troy, _

"_I have to run, I'll see you during lunch, but thank you." She said. Troy nodded as he watched Gabriella descend the stairs. _

_Stupid Bell. _

Chapter Five – Just Stop

Troy walked through the empty hallways of East High, slowly. He knew he was going to be late, so in his mind there was no point in trying to get to class any sooner. He knew that Señora Milano would demand a reason for his tardiness and it would have to be all in Spanish, but right now he didn't really care about figuring out how to explain it her. Right now he had bigger things to figure out.

He had fallen for Gabriella, he'd fallen very hard for her, and there was no denying it. Troy had managed to learn a little bit more about Gabriella as they played the short game and yet it had left so many questions unanswered and perhaps caused new questions to arise. Looking back on the experience he wished he could have asked her a million questions. He wanted to know everything about her, he needed to. He felt like he had to help her, help her understand that she was good enough that she was important.

Troy opened the door to his Spanish classroom, expecting to hear his Spanish teacher ranting on in Spanish; however, once he got inside the room, English filled his ears. Looking around the room, he noticed students had pushed the desks together and were chatting in small groups. Confused, Troy looked to the teacher's desk and noticed an old lady sitting at it reading the newspaper, paying absolutely no attention to the class.

"Troy" Sharpay's voice hissed sharply from the center of the room. Troy turned to look at her and Sharpay quickly motioned her head for him to come. Troy walked over and sat in the empty seat next to Sharpay, who was talking with Kelsi.

"You're 20 minutes late to class, had Señora Milano been here you'd have been dead meat." Kelsi reminded him.

"Where have you been?" Sharpay demanded.

"I just needed a little time to think" Troy said.

"Oh so you decide to do that during Spanish class instead of during your free period." Sharpay muttered sarcastically.

"I was busy during free period" Troy retorted.

"Well do enlighten us Troy Bolton where you were, because Chad and Jason couldn't find you" Sharpay muttered.

"I was with Gabriella" Troy said simply.

"Was she ok?" Kelsi asked quickly, concern being the prominent tone.

"Yeah" Troy said slowly. "Why?" He asked skeptically.

Kelsi shook her head quickly, "No reason"

Troy looked to both girls searching for some answer. Even Sharpay's best acting skills couldn't fool him, they both looked suspicious. Something was up.

"What are you not telling me?" he asked.

"Nothing" Kelsi said quickly. Troy looked at her skeptically.

"Oh let's just tell him" Sharpay said excitedly.

"No!" Kelsi exclaimed. "We agreed that it's not our place to tell him" she muttered through gritted teeth.

"Tell me what?"

"Tell you that Gabriella is an amazing singer!" Sharpay burst out.

"Sharpay!" Kelsi screeched, her jaw dropping.

"What?" Sharpay asked innocently. "The world should know that she can sing. We need her in our musicals. And besides I didn't tell him the really secret part" Sharpay reminded her.

Kelsi rolled her eyes and let out a loud, frustrated sigh.

"Kelsi." Troy said seriously. "What is going on?"

"Troy, it's not really our place to tell you" Kelsi reasoned.

"I know there is something going on with Gabriella and it's killing me that I can't figure it out." Troy confessed. "Don't you guys see it as well?"

Kelsi and Sharpay looked at each other contemplating the situation. Now that they really sat and thought about it Gabriella was very reserved and never seemed to have time to hang out after school or on the weekends. But why did her mother leaving her have any effect on Gabriella's social life.

Kelsi sighed, praying that this was the right decision,

"Her mom left her" she said softly.

"What?" Troy asked in disbelief.

"This morning Taylor, Sharpay and I heard her singing in the music room. She was singing about her mother leaving her, about the pain it had caused her. After she finished she broke down in sobs." Kelsi explained.

"Shit" Troy muttered.

Kelsi and Sharpay looked at Troy questioningly.

"Today during free period, we each got to ask each other three questions and I asked her what her greatest regret was and she said not being good enough. When I tried to say something she changed the subject." Troy explained.

"That's so heart breaking" Sharpay whispered.

"And I feel like there is something else we're missing" Troy said.

"Maybe we should talk to her" Sharpay suggested.

--

After the final bell rang, Gabriella stood at her locker packing her books into her backpack. She was moving slower than usual, mostly because her mind was in a different place. Troy had managed to distract her from the depression of the day for that one period but the rest of the day she had spent being miserable. As she shut her locker she leaned against it she closed her eyes she took a deep breath. As the memory of her mother leaving played over in her head, she fought back tears.

"Hey" Taylor's voice brought Gabriella out of the memory.

"Hi" Gabriella said breathlessly.

"You ok?" Taylor asked, genuinely concerned.

Gabriella nodded quickly, trying to hide the sadness in her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine" she lied.

Taylor and Gabriella began to walk down the hallway together. Soon they were joined by most of the gang. Taylor and Troy walked on either side of Gabriella, with Kelsi and Sharpay closely following. The rest of the boys trailed behind a little, talking amongst themselves.

As the group walked through the front doors Gabriella couldn't help but listen into a conversation Jason and Chad were having,

"I hate my mom, she's always getting on my case" Jason complained.

"I know what you mean, most of the time I think life would be better off without her" Chad said. No, how could he think that? There was nothing good that had come out of her own mother leaving. How dare he think that his life would be better without his mom. Without thinking Gabriella blurted out,

"No!" By the time the word left her mouth, it was too late to stop it. Thankfully neither Jason nor Chad had heard her, unfortunately, Taylor, Troy, Kelsi and Sharpay all had. They all stared that her blankly, searching for an answer.

"I um, I didn't mean that. It, um, just kind of popped out" Gabriella muttered. The four looked at her skeptically.

"I should probably go anyway" Gabriella's nervous babble continued, "I have to…go" she motioned behind her.

"Where are you going?" Taylor asked curiously.

"Home then work" Gabriella said softly.

"I'll walk with you. I have nothing to do this afternoon" Taylor offered. Just as Gabriella opened her mouth to protest most of the gang said they'd walk home with her too. Gabriella panicked. No. This wasn't happening, this couldn't happen.

"No that's ok, I have to run really quickly and it's kinda a long walk. I don't want to subdue you guys to that" Gabriella reasoned nervously.

"If it's really that long of a walk, I could drive you." Troy offered.

_Oh shit. _

"I um…My mom doesn't let me drive home with people she doesn't know. She's very strict" Gabriella lied. It was the only lie she could come up with that sounded legitimate.

"That's a lie" Sharpay stated, turning to face Gabriella as the group stopped near the fountains. Gabriella chocked on her own breath,

"No, no it's not a lie. Why would I lie?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out but all you do is lie to us!" Sharpay exploded.

"You don't know that" Gabriella said softly.

"Gabriella. We do. We know that your mother left you." Taylor said. Gabriella stared blankly at the group. The three girls all seemed to know and so did Troy. But how?

"Gabriella, that song you sang this morning was so heartbreaking." Kelsi said softly. So that was it, they had heard her singing. Gabriella tried to open her mouth to speak, but she couldn't find the right words to express herself, all that managed to leak out were tears.

"Your mother is the one missing out, not you. I'm sure your father is thankful to have you" Troy said.

"No!" Gabriella cried. They were speculating and assuming things that weren't true. She wasn't sure if she was angry or afraid, but whatever it was she couldn't take it anymore. "You don't know that!"

"But we do Gabriella, you shouldn't have to feel like your greatest regret is you weren't good enough for your family." Sharpay argued. Gabriella stared awestruck at Sharpay, how had she known one of Gabriella's deepest feelings. She had only told Troy, but he must of…

"Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed, hurt radiating in her voice. "I told you that because I didn't think you would tell anyone"

"Brie, I was just trying to help" Troy tried to explain softly.

"Oh by blurting out my deepest feelings" Gabriella said, sarcasm dripping from her tone. "I thought I could trust you" she finished coldly.

"We thought we could trust you! You've been lying to our faces" Troy retorted, angrily.

"Just tell us the truth" he continued, his voice softening considerably.

"You don't understand" Gabriella said weakly.

"We're trying to Brie!" Troy said desperately, throwing his arms up. Gabriella closed her eyes. She cared for these people, she really did, but they were digging too close and she needed to protect Lucas and Lily.

"Just stop. Stop trying to figure me out. Stop pretending you have me figured out!" She cried. After taking a pause her voice was soft and slow but stern, "Just. Stop."

She turned to try and escape the company of everyone, but was stopped when Troy grabbed her wrist. At the suddenly tight contact, she immediately pulled away violently, harsh memories returning.

"Brie" Troy whispered.

"Please" Gabriella begged quietly tears falling down her face. She turned to run off of the East High campus. When Troy tried to run after her Taylor pulled his back,

"Just let her go" She whispered remorsefully. Troy sighed. What was going on with her and how could he take away her pain?

* * *

**A/N: I realized two things while writing this chapter. I hate homework – ok so I didn't **_**just **_**realize that, but it was certainly a pain in the butt while I was trying to get this out. And secondly I hate writing arguments. I guess it's because I don't like confrontation. But whatever the reason, it was really hard for me to write the argument. Hopefully it was alright. Please review!**


	6. Confessions and Frustrations

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! I'm so glad you guys are liking it so far! Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

"_Just stop. Stop trying to figure me out. Stop pretending you have me figured out!" She cried. After taking a pause her voice was soft and slow but stern, "Just. Stop." _

_She turned to try and escape the company of everyone, but was stopped when Troy grabbed her wrist. At the suddenly tight contact, she immediately pulled away violently, harsh memories returning. _

"_Brie" Troy whispered. _

"_Please" Gabriella begged quietly tears falling down her face. She turned to run off of the East High campus. When Troy tried to run after her Taylor pulled his back, _

"_Just let her go" She whispered remorsefully. Troy sighed. What was going on with her and how could he take away her pain?_

Chapter Six – Confessions and Frustrations 

Gabriella walked briskly down the sidewalk, trying to rid her mind the argument she'd just had. She was hurt, confused, sad and angry. She knew she probably shouldn't have lost her temper the way she did, but everything had just been building up inside of her and she needed to let out at least some of it. As she replayed the argument in her head, she managed to walk right past the front gates of East Elementary School.

Lily and Lucas sat together on the grass in front of the school, waiting contently for their sister. Just as Lily was explaining the mural she had worked on in art class to Lucas, out of the corner of his eye Lucas saw their older sister walking right by the school.

"Lily! Look" He swatted her arm, grabbing her attention.

"Is that Gabi?" Lily asked as her eyes followed Gabriella.

"It looks like her" Lucas said. "Let's go" he stood up and pulled Lily up as well before the two began to run to try and catch up with Gabriella.

They chased Gabriella down the street, until finally they caught up with her. Gabriella turned around to see her two siblings out of breath, standing in front of her. She immediately slammed her hand on her forehead,

"Oh my god! Guys, I'm so sorry I just – it's just been a hard day for me and I had a lot on my mind. I'm so so sorry." Gabriella babbled. Lily and Lucas smiled,

"It's ok Gabi. Don't worry about it" Lucas assured her. Gabriella smiled appreciatively,

"Thank you" she whispered. Lily studied Gabriella's face as the trio began to walk down the street together. It was blotchy and slightly red and puffy around the eyes. She could see a hint of glossiness in her eyes. Had her older sister been crying? It certainly looked like it.

"Gabi?" Lily asked softly, looking up at her.

"Yeah"

"What's wrong?"

Gabriella looked confused.

"You look sad" Lily clarified. Lucas looked up at his sister and joined in,

"Yeah, have you been crying?" he asked softly. Gabriella looked between her two younger siblings. At only 10 years old, they could still tell if something was wrong. She debated for a moment if she should tell them the truth. As she looked down at dark brown eyes of her brother and sister, she could feel a sense of hope, of love, of trust. These were the only people in world who she _knew_ truly loved her, the only people who could say they have been through the same things she'd been through and the only people who knew her secrets. It was only fair that she tell them the truth.

"I got into a fight" Gabriella said quietly.

"What kind of fight?" Lucas asked defensively.

Gabriella took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing,_

"It was more of an argument…" Gabriella went on to explain the events of the day that led up to the altercation. All the while Lucas and Lily listened in silence as they watch their sister explain her story.

When Gabriella finished her tale, she had fresh tears building in her eyes, which she tried desperately to stop from flowing, as she didn't want her younger siblings to ever have to see her break down.

Lucas and Lily launched towards Gabriella, in the middle of the sidewalk, hugging her tightly. Although, they had both been very young when their mother left, they still felt the pain every day. Gabriella held her brother and sister close as the trio stood in the middle of the sidewalk comforting each other.

When the embrace ended, Lily was the first to speak,

"Gabi, can I tell you something?"

"Of course Lily, you can always tell me anything" Gabriella assured her.

"As much as I think your friends were completely wrong for assuming they knew about your life. I think that they did it because they had your best interest in mind. They must really care" Lily explained softly.

"I know" Gabriella admitted. "I just am afraid that they'll get too close and betray us. I can't let anything happen to you guys"

"I think we can speak for the both of us when I say that we just don't want you to be miserable and feel like you have to give your life up for us" Lucas explained quietly.

Gabriella squeezed Lucas and Lily's hands, "You guys mean the world to me. I am happy if you're happy" Gabriella whispered. Lily and Lucas smiled.

"We love you Gabi" The twins said in unison.

"I love you too" Gabriella said softly. For the rest of the journey home the three made small conversation, talking about their day at school among other things. Once they arrived home, Gabriella had to go out to work for the evening.

--

The next morning Gabriella made her way through the main hallway at East High. As always the hallway was crowded, with people randomly stopping in the middle of the hallway obstructing other students' pathways. Gabriella silently moved through the mass of people, until she came to her locker. Turning her lock, she quickly opened her locker and placed her bag on the ground, beginning to unpack it. Placing her books from the night before on the top shelf, she mentally kept a tally of the ones she needed.

Just then she felt a tap on her shoulder. Her hand flew up to her heart as she felt her heart rate speed up exponentially. Turning around, her eyes met Troy's deep blue ones.

"Oh, hi" she whispered meekly.

"Hey" Troy said softly. "So about yesterday…" Troy trailed off nervously.

"It doesn't matter" Gabriella said.

"I does matter Gabriella, what's going on with you is important to me" Troy tried to reason with her.

Gabriella shook her head, grabbing the final book she needed for her first period class.

"Don't worry about me." She said softly, shutting her locker. "I have to go anyway" Clutching her books to her chest, she walked past Troy.

As he watched Gabriella disappear into the masses of people, Troy felt helpless as he called out her name softly, knowing she wouldn't hear him. Troy let himself fall back against the locker, supporting his body. Frustrated, Troy let his head bang against the cool metal of locker, releasing some of the frustration. He closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair as he let out a groan.

Maybe if he gave her some space she would come around. Or at least he hoped so.

**A/N: So I know that was shorter than the previous chapters, but it's mostly set up for future chapters and it seemed like a good place to stop. Please review! Thank you for reading!**


	7. Sweet Dreams

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews!! Enjoy…**

* * *

_Last Time…_

_As he watched Gabriella disappear into the masses of people, Troy felt helpless as he called out her name softly, knowing she wouldn't hear him. Troy let himself fall back against the locker, supporting his body. Frustrated, Troy let his head bang against the cool metal of locker, releasing some of the frustration. He closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair as he let out a groan. _

_Maybe if he gave her some space she would come around. Or at least he hoped so._

Chapter Seven –Sweet Dreams

It had been a week. One long week since Troy had decided to give Gabriella some space. And things hadn't gotten any better. During the few times Gabriella spoke to any one of the gang members, her voice was timid and the conversation only lasted a few minutes.

It hadn't just been a long week for the gang but it had been a long week for Gabriella. Having limited sleep was taking its toll on Gabriella, although she tried not to show it.

It was Friday morning and Gabriella was pouring some orange juice for Lucas and Lily, who were chatting happily together. As she poured the juice, a great yawn escaped her lips due to her extreme tiredness.

Gabriella lost focus on her pouring as her mind slipped into trying to remember how many quizzes she had today. _My English paper is due, and I have that history quiz. Ok I studied for that and edited my essay. Oh crap vocab! Wait think Gabi, acrimonious, ok it's an adjective, and it means strong, no no it doesn't…it means…think Gabi, think._

"Gabi!" Lily screeched, pulling Gabriella out of her thoughts. Gabriella looked down at the juice she was pouring and for the first time she noticed that she was pouring way too much orange juice and it had completely over flowed the glass and was forming a puddle on the table. Gabriella gasped and immediately pulled the carton upright, stopping the flow.

"Oh god, sorry!" Gabriella exclaimed reaching for the paper towels to begin to mop up the spilt orange juice.

Gabriella pushed down on the paper towel to soak up the juice and then put her hand under the paper towel to stop the juice from dripping on to the floor as she brought the wet towel to the garbage.

Lucas and Lily watched their older sister mutter to herself as she cleaned up the mess. They both knew of her sisters limited sleeping habits. Looking between each other the decided it was time to say something.

"Gabs are you sure you're getting enough sleep?" Lily asked softly.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine" Gabriella said quickly.

"You sure? It's not like you to spill orange juice like that" Lucas pointed out.

"I was just being clumsy." She explained. "Now eat up, we have to get going soon"

Taking a big gulp of her coffee, which these days was her only source of energy Gabriella let the hot liquid run down her throat as she closed her eyes in an effort of conserve some energy.

Lily and Lucas exchanged skeptical glances. Their sister was definitely sleep deprived, they would have to make sure to get her to bed early tonight.

--

Once Gabriella saw that the twins were safely inside the school she released a long yawn, craving a nice bed to lie down in. Ignoring the dizziness that had come upon her she continued walking down the sidewalk until she came to the entrance of the school.

As she opened the doors, she felt blackness creep around her eyes, closing in on her. Just as it was about to gain control Gabriella shook her head to rid her eyes of the black enclosure.

Once again ignoring her body's blatant signs that she need to sleep Gabriella made her way to her locker. She turned the lock slowly, trying to rack her mind for the combination.

Troy watched Gabriella carefully as he stood with Taylor and Chad at Taylor's locker. He watched her struggle to remember the combination for the fourth time this week. He sighed, wishing he could help her somehow. She looked completely and utterly drained of any source of energy.

Taylor looked up and noticed Troy starring at Gabriella,

"Maybe it's time we try talking to her again" Taylor suggested.

Troy looked down at Taylor and sighed, "I just have no idea what to say to her" he confessed. "Every time I try to talk to her, either she avoids me completely or she puts up this wall in the first few moments. So basically our conversations that never last more than five minutes are restricted to how school or basketball is going."

"I know" Taylor nodded, "I have Chem with her and she won't go any further than what the Chem homework was or what's going on in the class."

"And it's killing me, because there is something clearly wrong and she won't say a thing" Troy said, clearly frustrated. "I guess it's time for today's attempt"

Taylor nodded slowly, "Good luck" she said hopefully. Troy strode towards Gabriella trying to remain calm, cool and collected. Gabriella saw as Troy approached her.

"Good morning" he said coolly,

"Morning. How are you?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm good. You?" Troy asked.

"Fine" Gabriella answered simply.

"You look a little tired" Troy observed carefully.

"You know…it's Friday. I guess everyone's tired" Gabriella answered.

Troy nodded, slowly, "I know, but are you sure you're alright?" he asked carefully.

"I'm fine Troy" Gabriella responded quickly. Troy watched as she almost struggled to hold the books in her arms as if she was so weak that a 10 lb book and a notebook were too much for her fragile body. "I should go anyway. Um, I have um, to get to class." Gabriella lied, hoping to avoid the probing of Troy.

"Ok. Bye" Troy said softly, as he was watched Gabriella turn and walk slowly down the crowded hallway.

"Damnit" Troy muttered angrily, banging his fist against the metal locker.

Chad and Taylor watched the conversation unfold in front of their eyes. Taylor winced as she saw Troy bang his fist against the locker. Chad just shook his head,

"I've never seen him like this" he whispered.

"He's fallen hard for her. Imagine what you would do if I pushed you away every time you tried to talk to me" Taylor said.

"I would go insane, so don't you dare" Chad muttered, pulling Taylor close, her back pressing against his front.

Taylor grinned and relaxed into the embrace.

--

During free period Gabriella tried to focus on the book she was reading for English. As her eyes read word after word, the letters began to blend together to form a gray and blurry mass on the page. Blinking twice she refocused her eyes and continued reading, however the same problem arose very quickly. Once again Gabriella blinked profusely, trying to rid herself of the sensation.

Frustrated, Gabriella set the book down and rubbed her tired, heavy eyes. All of a sudden a terrible tiredness came over her. Her head began to feel heavy and it became a struggle to keep her eyes open. Soon, she began to feel dizzy and her eyes drooped even more. Suddenly blackness began to creep in around her eyes. It was as if her brain was shutting down and she had no control over it. Before she knew it her head felt too heavy for her neck to support. She felt her head fall down on the table and everything went black.

Upon hearing the thump of Gabriella's head against the wooden table Troy glanced towards Gabriella. Jumping up from his chair Troy raced towards her. Placing a hand on her back Troy looked around to see if anyone else had noticed. He saw Kelsi coming towards them and was thankfully because he knew Kelsi knew more about medical issues than he did.

"Kels! What do we do? Is she going to be ok? Should we call for help?" Troy asked frantically. Kelsi held up one finger silently. She leaned down and listened closely to Gabriella. She found a heartbeat and light breathing.

"I think she fainted. Let's see if we can get her awake." Kelsi explained.

"Gabriella" Kelsi spoke softly, yet clearly. "Gabriella, can you hear me?"

After a few moments a soft murmur escaped Gabriella's lips. Troy let out a breath, _Thank God. _

"Brie" Troy whispered gently. Slowly Gabriella lifted her head up, her eyes still drooping.

"Gabriella, how do you feel?" Kelsi asked.

"Tired" Gabriella murmured.

"Does your head hurt?" Kelsi asked.

"No" Gabriella answered softly. Kelsi nodded,

"I think you fainted Gabriella, probably because you're so exhausted. Why don't we take you to the nurse?" Kelsi offered.

"No let's take her home. She'll be able to sleep there" Troy said.

"Troy, you can't just up and leave school. She can sleep in the nurse's office" Kelsi responded.

"She won't get any sleep in the nurse's office, you know that. I'll just sneak out a door under one of the stairwells and be back before next period starts. No one will know I left." Troy answered.

"Fine" Kelsi agreed.

"Brie" Troy said gently, terrified that she would build up her wall before Troy could get her home. "I'm going take you home. Is that alright?" he asked.

Gabriella nodded, obviously still not thinking as clearly as usual. She began to stand up slowly, still weak from fainting. Troy grabbed her bag and walked next to her, his arm was placed lightly on the small of her back for support and guidance.

Soon, the pair made it outside to Troy's car, undisturbed. Troy pulled his car keys, opened the passenger seat door and once he saw that Gabriella was seated, he closed it. Hopping into the driver's side Troy quickly glanced over at Gabriella, who looked like she was about to fall asleep.

"Where do you live Brie?" Troy asked, just then remembering that he needed to know before she fell asleep.

"3B in Yorkshire Meadow Apartments" she answered quietly without thinking. She was just so tired that all she could think about was falling asleep. The thoughts of her complicated life were no longer present in her mind.

Troy nodded, turned the engine on and pulled out his parking spot.

It didn't take long for Troy to hear Gabriella's breathing change. He glanced over and saw that she had fallen asleep. His lips curved into a smile as he took a moment to appreciate just how beautiful she was. Despite the obvious signs of fatigue on her face, she still managed to look beautiful.

Soon Troy pulled into the apartment complex. He found a parking spot and quietly got out of the car. Before picking Gabriella up, he found her keys in her bag. Gently, so not to wake her, Troy lifted her out of the car and carried her towards the building bridal style. Climbing two flights of stairs Troy reached 3B. Still managing keep hold of Gabriella, he put the key into the lock and turned it. Pushing the door open he walked into the apartment and gently kicked the door shut.

Troy stood in living room of Gabriella's apartment and could see into the kitchen on his left. He moved past the sofa that sat in the middle of the room towards a short hallway near the back of the room. He walked down the short hallway peering into the two rooms, to decide which one was Gabriella's. The first room he came to had one twin bed in the middle of the room. He peered in a little more and could see a history textbook he recognized to be Gabriella's.

Assuming that it was Gabriella's room, he pushed aside the quilt and gently lay Gabriella down. After pulling off her shoes, Troy pulled the covers over her. Gabriella shifted slightly as she relaxed onto the bed. Troy leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her forehead,

"Sweet dream Brie"

* * *

**A/N: There you have it! I hope you enjoyed that chapter! In the next chapter we'll find out what happens when Gabriella wakes up from her sleep and a lot of other things. Thank you so much for reading, please review!**

**I just have one tiny favor to ask of my lovely readers. I'm trying to find this story and I can't remember the title or author and it's bothering me so much! So if you have even the faintest idea that would be so helpful! All I can remember is that it's a collection of oneshots and I know in the scheme of things Gabriella is on the swim/diving team because in one of them she is sick but has to participate in the meet anyway, which of course pisses Troy off. She ends up hitting her head and from there you can guess what happens but if you know the title or the author or anything that would be SO helpful!! OH btw it's Troyella if you hadn't guessed! Thanks!!**


	8. The Rain

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: I just want to say thank you to everyone who gave me the title and author of that story! I cannot thank you enough! Enjoy…**

* * *

_Last Time…_

_Troy stood in living room of Gabriella's apartment and could see into the kitchen on his left. He moved past the sofa that sat in the middle of the room towards a short hallway near the back of the room. He walked down the short hallway peering into the two rooms, to decide which one was Gabriella's. The first room he came to had one twin bed in the middle of the room. He peered in a little more and could see a history textbook he recognized to be Gabriella's. _

_Assuming that it was Gabriella's room, he pushed aside the quilt and gently lay Gabriella down. After pulling off her shoes, Troy pulled the covers over her. Gabriella shifted slightly as she relaxed onto the bed. Troy leaned over and placwww.faned a soft kiss on her forehead, _

"_Sweet dreams Brie"_

Chapter Eight – The Rain

Troy tapped his fingers anxiously on his desk during 8th period. 3 minutes left. In 3 minutes he could run out of this school and check on Gabriella. He'd been bugging Kelsi since he'd come back to school, making sure that she was sure that Gabriella was going to be alright. After he'd bugged Kelsi to a point of breaking, he'd gone after Taylor during lunch. Taylor had convinced him as well as she could that Gabriella would be fine and yet he was still worried.

RING…

_YES! _Troy jumped up from his seat and ran through the hallway, weaving in and out of the people crowding the hall. He grabbed his things quickly from his locker before making his way to the exit of East High. Upon exiting heavy rain slashed down on Troy's body as he ran toward his car.

The fact that it was Friday combined with the fact it was pouring with rain made the parking lot fill up with students wanting to get home incredibly quickly. Troy was stuck in a long line of cars trying to get out of the parking lot.

_Perfect._

--

Lily and Lucas huddled together under the covering of the front steps of East Elementary School trying to avoid getting soaked. Their sister was 15 minutes late and truthfully both of them were starting to worry. They knew how tired she was and they knew that her fatigue combine with the current weather situation wasn't a good combination.

"I think we should call her" Lily suggested. Lucas nodded in agreement. The two slipped back inside the school and quickly found the pay phone located just inside the doorway. Sliding two quarters is Lucas dialed Gabriella's cell phone number.

Troy had just escaped the madness of the East High parking lot when he heard a ringing noise come from the passenger seat. Confused he glanced over and saw a cell phone in the passenger's seat. _I bet it's Gabriella's_. Troy contemplated whether or not he should pick it up. He figured it had to be someone who was going to be worried about where she was, so he decided to pick it up.

"Hello" he said.

"Hi" the voice on the other end sounded young and confused. "Who is this?" the young boy's voice asked.

"My name is Troy Bolton" Troy said. "Who's is this?"

"I'm Lucas. Is Gabriella there?" Lucas asked.

"She's not. I'm on my way to see her actually." Troy explained.

"What? Why?" Lucas questioned bluntly.

"It's a long story actually. But to cut it short, Gabriella fainted during free period so I brought her home." Troy explained.

"Is she alright?" Lucas asked frantically.

"She should be, but that's kind of the reason I'm headed over there. Can I just ask why you're calling Gabriella?" Troy questioned curiously. He could hear muffled voices seemingly arguing over what to say. Raising an eyebrow in confusion he waited for an answer.

Lucas took a deep breath, "Gabi is my sister, she was supposed to come by the school to walk us home, but I guess we'll just walk home."

Just as Lucas seemed to be hanging up the phone Troy cut him off,

"Woah there. Have you seen the weather outside? You go to East Elementary right? I'm literally a minute away." Troy said.

"Yeah. Thanks"

As Lucas placed the phone back on the hook, he heard Lily let out a sigh,

"This going to be an interesting night"

"You think?" Lucas picked up his back pack again as the pair walked outside to wait for Troy.

"Doesn't Gabi hate Troy right now?" Lucas wondered aloud.

"Well obviously Troy doesn't hate her." Lily pointed out. "We'll sure know once she wakes up"

Troy pulled in front of East Elementary School. He could see two dark haired children waiting on the front steps. Gabriella had a brother _and _a sister? Stopping the engine he opened the door and stood up, waving the kids over.

Lucas and Lily saw Troy beckoning them over and started to run through the rain until they reached Troy's car. Lucas opened the backseat door and pair climbed in. Troy glanced back at the pair. It was obvious they were Gabriella's siblings. Their dark hair and brown eyes gave it away.

"So you must be Lucas" Troy said, "And what's your name sweetie?" He asked the dark haired girl.

"Lily" she answered.

"Well Lily and Lucas, let's buckle up and go" Troy said, turning back to the steering wheel.

"So how old are you guys?" Troy asked curiously as he merged into the oncoming traffic.

"10" Lucas answered concisely.

"Both of you?" Troy wondered.

"Yup, we're twins" Lily explained.

"That's cool. So, you guys are in…fourth or fifth grade?" Troy guessed trying to do the grade calculations in his head.

"We just started fifth grade" Lily confirmed.

"Ah so you're the top dogs at your school right?" Troy pointed out.

Lily and Lucas laughed, "Yeah, I guess"

Troy grinned.

Soon, Troy pulled into the parking lot of Yorkshire Meadow Apartment. Jumping out of the car Troy quickly opened the door for Lily and Lucas and helped them out. The trio ran towards the entrance of the building.

They quickly climbed the stairs and before long they were standing in front of the apartment door. Troy dug in his pockets for the key. Upon finding it he pulled it out and pushed it into the lock.

"Where did you get that?" Lucas asked incredulously.

"I took it out of Gabriella's bag. She was asleep and I didn't want to wake her to ask where it was, so I just kind of found it in her bag" Troy explained sheepishly. Lily and Lucas looked at each other as if they were somehow deciding whether or not they should trust him.

Finally Lily shrugged, "Fair enough"

Troy opened the door to the apartment and then once everyone was inside he shut it again. Troy, Lucas and Lily quickly slipped off their shoes and pulled off their jackets.

"Should we go see how she is?" Troy asked. Lucas and Lily nodded almost excitedly. The three walked towards Gabriella's room. Just before entering Troy reminded them they had to be really quiet so not to wake Gabriella.

Troy gently pushed the door open, praying Gabriella would still be sleeping. Sure enough the sound of Gabriella's steady and soft breathing filled the room. Troy stood in the doorway as he watched Lucas and Lily move towards the bed to study their sister.

Lucas watched Gabriella intently, seeming to do a once over to make sure that she was alright whereas Lily smiled happily at the sleeping Gabriella. Then both the twins leaned over her and whispered something in her ear.

As Lily and Lucas retreated towards the door Troy stepped near Gabriella's bed so that he could convince himself that she was alright. He sat down gently on the side of the bed and watched as Gabriella's chest rose and fell rhythmically. He carefully tucked a fallen curl behind her ear, gently grazing her cheek. Satisfied that she was ok, Troy slowly stood up and walked out of the room.

Just outside the door he found Lucas and Lily waiting for him.

"Thank you Troy" Lily said softly.

"For what?"

"For everything. But especially for bringing Gabriella home. We've been worrying about her for a while now. This morning was definitely the worst. I don't think she's been getting enough sleep and it just all caught up with her." Lily explained.

"I think so too. We'll just have to keep a close eye on her now, won't we" Troy suggested.

"Definitely." Lucas nodded.

"So, what time does your dad get home?" Troy asked obviously. Lily and Lucas panicked; this was the first time they'd been forced to lie to someone's face about their life without Gabriella around to help. Lucas managed to think of something first,

"Oh, he's away on a business trip" he lied.

"Yeah Gabi is taking care of us for the week" Lily continued.

"Oh, I see. Well I'd hate to leave you pair alone right now, especially with the state Gabriella's in and the fact that you're probably hungry. So if you don't mind I could stay awhile." Troy suggested. Lucas and Lily didn't see any problem with Troy's offer.

"That'd be great" Lily said.

"Good. Well I don't know about you guys but even though it's only 3:30 I'm starving."

"Me too! I have lunch really early in the day" Lucas exclaimed.

"Since the last time I tried to cook I nearly burning my house down I think we should just order pizza. You guys like pizza right?"

"Yeah!" the twins chimed.

--

Lightening ripped through the dark evening sky, lighting it up with vibrant colors. Soon after a loud thunderous clap rang through Gabriella's apartment, causing her to jolt awake. Shaking her head, she looked around room, confused. What on earth was she doing here? She had actually gone to school today right? Yes, she had, she remembered being in the library reading, after that all she could remember was everything going black. The question was how had she gotten from school to her room?

Glancing over at the clock, she silently cursed when she saw it was way past 3 o'clock way way past. Almost 8 o'clock to be more exact. The twins! And to make matters worse it was raining, hard.

Jumping out of bed she had to steady herself as the dizzy feeling came over her again. She turned on the light so that she could where she was going. Frantically she ripped open the door and dashed down the hall. Arriving in the living room she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Troy, Lily and Lucas sitting around the coffee table playing cards and laughing.

Troy looked up from his cards and froze once he saw Gabriella's dumbfounded face.

**A/N: And I think we'll stop there. I know this chapter may have been a little boring…but it was really important especially for the next one….Which I'm not entirely sure when I will be able to get it out. The PSATs are next Saturday so that basically adds more studying to my ridiculous pile of homework. **

**But on the bright side….**

**HSM3 IS OUT IT IN TWO WEEKS!! AHHHH! – sorry just a tad excited. **

**Comments, questions, concerns, please review!**


	9. Cinnamon Toast Crunch

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: WOW!! Thank you so much for all the reviews! I was so surprised when I opened the e-mail to see all the reviews, favorites and alerts. Sorry this is so late, I've had a crazy week. Enjoy…**

* * *

_Last Time…_

_Jumping out of bed she had to steady herself as the dizzy feeling came over her again. She turned on the light so that she could where she was going. Frantically she ripped open the door and dashed down the hall. Arriving in the living room she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Troy, Lily and Lucas sitting around the coffee table playing cards and laughing. _

_Troy looked up from his cards and froze once he saw Gabriella's dumbfounded face._

Chapter Nine – Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Both Troy and Gabriella were paralyzed in their positions, neither knowing what should be said. Gabriella was terrified that Troy had figured out her secret and Troy was afraid Gabriella might still resent him. The pair was thankful when Lily broke the tension.

"Gabi! You're awake!" She exclaimed, making her way over to Gabriella for a hug. Lucas got up from his position on the floor to make his own way over to his older sister.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Fine" Gabriella answered. Her answer was generic and expressed in such a manner that left a tone of confusion in her voice.

"You sure?" Lucas asked. "because you still look kinda tired and pale." He commented.

"But that's only natural, I mean you did faint in school and you've been getting, what like 4 hours of sleep a night since school started" Lily added quickly.

Gabriella tried to process the information being thrown at her.

"Wait, back up, I fainted in school?" she asked. She remembered being tired and being in the library but after that everything else was a blur.

"Yeah, Troy said your head just kind of fell forward while you were sitting in the library. He said that Kelsi checked you over and she said you were alright, but you should probably go to the nurse. But Troy said if you went to the nurse you wouldn't get any sleep, so he brought you home." Lucas explained. As her brother explained the story she vaguely began to remember being in Troy's car and then telling him where she lived. She remembered just being so exhausted that her mind obviously hadn't been functioning properly. She glanced at Troy, who looked up at her sheepishly as he continued to clean up the playing cards scattered on the table.

"But what about-" Gabriella began, but she was cut off by Lily, who had some idea what her next question would be.

"Your cell phone must have fallen out of your pocket while you were in Troy's car, because when Luc and I called you from the school Troy picked up your phone. We were going to walk home, but Troy brought us here, he said he was on his way anyway." Lily explained.

Gabriella smiled at Troy gratefully, who by this time had finished picking up the cards,

"Thank you" she said softly.

Troy was grateful to hear those words instead of her asking him to leave. "It was my pleasure. Lucas and Lily are great"

Gabriella grinned, her eyes softening as she gazed at Troy intently. Troy's blue eyes studied her carefully, watching for any sign of weakness, any sign that she wasn't ok. Her eyes still held a sadness that he hoped she would be willing to talk about soon.

Lily smiled at the way Troy and Gabriella were looking at each other. She decided that the two needed to be alone right now.

"Luc wasn't there something you wanted to show me?" Lily asked Lucas, hoping he would get the hint, however she had no such luck.

"You know, the thing you were telling me about in school. The thing that I'm really excited to see" Lily said, trying at the same to make some sort of gesture toward Gabriella to try to get her idea across. Finally Lucas seemed to understand,

"Oh! That thing! Yeah I was going to show it to you as soon as we got home. Right. Let's go then" Lucas said awkwardly. Gabriella looked at the pair skeptically. Lucas and Lily flashed her innocent smiles before dashing off.

After the twins had disappeared into their room, Gabriella turned back to face Troy. As Troy's blue eyes bore into her brown ones Gabriella couldn't take his gaze, no matter how gentle it was. She looked to the ground, trying to figure out what the hell she was supposed to say to him.

Little did Gabriella know that Troy was thinking the exact same thing. Every possibly that ran through his mind sounded completely ridiculous.

Finally Gabriella managed to compile her thoughts and she looked back up at Troy,

"Thank you Troy. I know I said it before but I can't tell you how much it means to me. Lucas and Lily mean everything to me" Gabriella spoke with a sincerity in her voice that Troy could only marvel at it.

"Don't worry about it Brie" Troy smiled. "I should probably give you back these though" Troy said as he remembered the key and her phone. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out her cell and the key. Gabriella smiled slightly and she took the two items from Troy's hand.

"Thanks"

Gabriella pushed her phone into the back pocket of her jeans and placed the key on the kitchen table. Just as was turning back to face Troy he blurted out,

"Brie, I'm sorry"

Gabriella exhaled as she furrowed her eyebrows; she wasn't quite sure what he was apologizing for.

"I shouldn't have told the girls those things. I guess I was just worried about you. You know?" Troy babbled quickly. Gabriella couldn't help but falter at the honesty in his voice. There was one phrase especially that seemed to stick out in her mind _I was just worried about you._ Those simple words meant so much to Gabriella. And yet she couldn't quite let her wall down.

"Troy I know I've said this before but you don't have to worry about me. Please I'm sure you have more important things to do" Gabriella whispered dejectedly, looking to the ground. Troy gently placed two of his fingers under Gabriella's chin and brought it up, so he was looking directly at her.

"Right now there's nothing more important than you." He whispered, studying her carefully. He silently debated whether or not he should bring it up. Her eyes looks so sad, he needed to know what really happened to her mother. He wanted to make it better. "Brie what happened that day?" Troy asked softly, taking Gabriella's hand. As he rubbed his thumb gently in a circle a sense of calm came over Gabriella. A feeling she had never experienced shot through her body. She felt a sense of security she'd never felt with anyone, especially a man.

Gabriella closed her eyes. How could Troy possibly be so kind to her? Why her? Of all the beautiful girls at East High, why Gabriella? "Please Brie, what happened?" Troy's voice seemed desperate and yet it was so gentle and kind. Gabriella saw a truth in his eyes that she only saw in the eyes of her siblings.

She led him to the sofa, and took a seat beside him, her small hand still being held by his. Taking a deep breath, Gabriella started to explain the story.

"September 19th. I was 10 years old, Lucas and Lily were only 3…"

_Flashback_

_It had just gone dark in Connecticut and Gabriella Montez had just gotten ready for bed. She was currently sitting on her bed, waiting for her parents to say goodnight to her._

_Growing impatient she silently jumped off her bed and made her way into the hall. Upon reaching the top of the stairs she could hear arguing coming from downstairs._

_Gabriella winced slightly upon hearing the heated argument that was going on downstairs. This wasn't the first time that the arguing had taken place. Over the past few months the arguments had gotten louder, more heated and more frequent. Gabriella also wasn't stupid, she knew that most of, if not all of them were about her._

_Both her parents worked and they both wanted to keep their jobs, but Tomas wanted Maria to quit her job and stay at home with the children while Maria would have no such thing. And little 10 year old Gabriella believed it was all her fault._

_"What the hell are you doing Maria?" Tomas yelled._

_"I'm leaving" Maria stated boldly._

_Her father paused, "What?"_

_"I'm moving out. I want to work full time."_

_"What about the kids?" Tomas asked angrily._

_"You're their father. I'm sure you can take care of them" Maria retorted._

_"Why are you being so selfish?"_

_"Selfish?" Maria said coldly. "I've given up my life for these children. I got pregnant with Gabriella at 18. And I had to go to night school so you could go to school full time. Then just after I got my degree, which by the way took longer than it should have, I got pregnant with twins, so I couldn't work! Now you want me to quit the job I just got. I am 27 years old. I do not want to live my life like this!"_

_Gabriella felt tears sting her eyes as she listened to her mother yell. The sounds that proceeded broke Gabriella's heart. She heard her mother stomp down the hallway and then slam the front door behind her._

_Gabriella ran back into her room and pulled up the blinds. She watched in horror as her mother opened the boot to place her suitcase in and then walk to the front of the car, get into the driver's seat and pull out of the driveway._

_Downstairs her father was cursing loudly and just before she collapsed on her bed in hysterics she heard her father punch one of the walls downstairs._

_End Flashback_

"…and we never saw her again" Gabriella finished.

"Oh Brie, I'm so so sorry" Troy whispered. Gabriella shook her head,

"No, no. It's not your fault. It's…" Gabriella paused as her voice cracked. "It's mine" she whispered meekly, tears bursting out of her eyes. She collapsed onto Troy's chest. Troy cautiously wrapped his arms around Gabriella's petite body. Once he realized that she wasn't going to push him away he tightened his hold slightly and ran his hand soothingly through her hair and down her back.

"Brie" he whispered "Shh, it's not your fault"

"Then why did she go? Why? Did she not love me? Was I not good enough?" Gabriella croaked, a heavy undertone of pain in her voice.

"She just wasn't ready to step up to the mom Brie." Troy whispered. "And I promise you that it was _not_ your fault in any way, shape or form. I don't want you to believe that you aren't good enough Brie, because I know you are more than good enough"

Gabriella looked up, teary eyed, "But…" she began softly.

"But nothing. She made a selfish decision and it is not fair to you to have to carry that around with you." Troy said.

"But if I hadn't been born, she wouldn't have been miserable" Gabriella said heartbreakingly. Troy shook his head,

"If you hadn't been born I wouldn't know you. If you hadn't been born you wouldn't know Lucas or Lily. If you hadn't been born there are a lot of people who would have missed out. So don't you think that you being born was a mistake" He continued with conviction.

"Now I think that's enough tears, don't you?" Troy said, trying to lighten the mood. Gabriella smiled half-heartedly as she nodded, sniffling and wiping her tears off her face.

"Thank you again" Gabriella whispered. "I've never told anyone all that before"

Troy smiled kindly, "Well if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here."

Gabriella thought for a second, what she had just told Troy wasn't even the half of it, but was she really ready to tell him the rest? Her insecurities about the whole situation got the best of her and she decided against it. She would tell him, just not right now. Her fragile heart couldn't take anymore tonight.

"I'll remember that" Gabriella said softly, nodding. Troy grinned.

"Now, Miss Montez if I remember correctly you asked me a bit of a hypocritical question a while back."

Gabriella looked at Troy strangely while still managing to smile at the tone he was using.

"You asked me why nobody knew I could sing, when I believe very few people know you can sing." Troy reminded her. Gabriella looked down sheepishly,

"Oh jeez, well it's a good thing very few people know" She said softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh stop being modest. Sharpay says you're amazing, and I don't think Sharpay has ever said anyone besides herself was amazing."

Gabriella's lips curved into a small smile. Troy grinned,

"I think someone knows they're good." Troy countered his pitch raising as he reached the end of the sentence. "You'll have to prove it to me sometime"

"I'll prove it to you when you prove to me that you can sing" Gabriella responded grinning, almost proud of herself for turning the tables on Troy, who seemed slightly surprised at her response.

"Deal"

It was then that Gabriella's stomach let out an embarrassingly loud rumble. Gabriella quickly looked down and grabbed her stomach as if by some miracle the noise would stop because of her hands. When it finally stopped she looked up,

"Sorry. I guess I'm just hungry" Gabriella stood up from the couch and as she adjusted her shirt she asked Troy if he was hungry.

"I'm a guy, guys are always hungry" he laughed. Gabriella giggled as she walked into the kitchen. Troy couldn't help but stare at the way Gabriella scrunched her nose as she pondered what the two of them should eat.

He was brought out his trance when Gabriella held up a box of _Cinnamon Toast Crunch_.

"I hope you don't mind having breakfast for dinner. I do it all the time" Gabriella confessed. "It's just an easy way out when you don't feel like cooking"

"Sounds perfect"

Grinning, Gabriella found two bowls, two spoons and grabbed the milk. The pair sat across from each other at the table. Somehow Gabriella managed to pour some of the sugary cereal into the bowls while Troy grabbed the milk and poured it on top.

"God, I haven't done this in such a long time" Troy stated, after taking his first spoonful.

"What? Eat cereal?" Gabriella joked. Troy laughed sarcastically,

"Ha funny"

"I know what you mean. But seriously? I do this at least once a week" Gabriella explained. "What can I say I'm a big fan of Cinnamon Toast Crunch" she shrugged sweetly as she took another spoonful of the cereal.

Troy smiled, he couldn't help it though, the girl sitting across from him was simply amazing, to say the least.

--

Troy and Gabriella lost track of time completely, many hours later they were still sitting at the table. Currently they were discussing music.

"OK, so you won't listen to Taylor Swift, please at least tell me you listen to Kate Voegele – she is amazing!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Kate Voeg-who?" Troy began trying to pronounce Kate's last name. Gabriella looked disgusted,

"Kate _Voegele_" Gabriella stressed, but Troy started at her blankly, "Oh come on, she was on One Tree Hill last season"

"Brie. One Tree Hill? Seriously I'm a guy, I don't watch that. What about Lifehouse or Kanye or-" Troy was cut off by the loud ringing of his cell phone. Pulling it out, he winced silently seeing it was his parents calling and also noting he had 5 text messages, all from his parents that he had apparently not heard.

"Hello"

"_Troy Bolton! Where on earth have you been?" his mother screeched over the phone. _

"I was just at a friend's house" Troy tried to explain calmly.

"_Do you have any idea what time it is?"_

"Uh…" Troy began realizing he had absolutely no idea, last time he checked it just past 8pm.

"_10:45" his mother hissed. "And not even a phone call. In this weather Troy of all days"_

His parents weren't particularly strict, but the rules they did lay down were strongly enforced. If he wasn't going to be home by 10:30 they needed a phone call that included where he was, when he was going to be home and what he was doing.

"Sorry" Troy mumbled.

"_You have ten minutes. I want to see you in ten minutes" his mother told him before she hung up. _

Troy closed his phone and shoved his phone back into his pocket.

"I'm sorry I kept you" Gabriella said immediately "I completely lost track of time"

Troy shook his head, "It is in no way your fault, I lost track of time just like you did."

Gabriella nodded gratefully just as a yawn managed to slip out of her mouth.

"I guess I should get to bed anyway, I have to get up to work in the morning." She said.

"Woah, you mean at the diner?"

"Yeah"

"I think you should take the day off. You know, have a nice relaxing, good night's sleep" Troy suggested.

"Troy, I really can't, I don't want to get into trouble" Gabriella explained nervously. Troy shook his head,

"Brie I think it would be a lot better if you took tomorrow off. You, me, Lucas and Lily can hang out. What do you say?"

"I don't know…" Gabriella frowned.

"I know the manager, he's a family friend. I promise you won't lose your job" Troy explained hopefully in a final attempt to convince Gabriella.

Gabriella pondered Troy's offer for a moment. If she wouldn't get in trouble then maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. Lucas and Lily would have fun - she knew Troy would make sure of that.

"Ok" Gabriella nodded as the pair made their way to the door

Troy grinned widely, "Great I'll be here at 10" He opened the door and raised his hand as sort of a goodbye. Gabriella smiled and did the same.

"See you tomorrow"

Gabriella closed the door carefully, before locking it. For the first time in a long time she felt so elated. She and Troy had talked for hours and yet it had only seemed like a few minutes. The conversation had flowed so easily, and Gabriella felt safe in his presence, like she could be herself with him.

As Troy walked down the stairs of Yorkshire Apartments he couldn't wipe the smile off his face. Words couldn't describe how much he had enjoyed tonight. It had been simple, basically two friends chatting and yet he had learned so much about Gabriella. He'd seen the bubbly side of her tonight, which he loved.

He was so thankful that she'd opened up to him. He knew it had been difficult for her, the pain had been clearly evident in her voice and eyes, but he finally felt as if he was getting close to her, somewhere he definitely wanted to be.

* * *

**A/N: Phew! I didn't think it would get to be that long, but I guess I couldn't help myself :) This chapter was important and I know some of you are going to be ready to kill me since Gabriella didn't reveal all of her secret, but give it time…**

**Just thought I would make a little note that, AHHH HSM3 comes out tomorrow!! This whole week I've totally been spazzing out! Funny story actually, in my history class on Wednesday, we were doing power point presentations and at my school the teacher's laptop can be hooked up to the TV in the corner of the room, so we can all see the power point. So anyway, my teacher turns on the TV and it was on the cable setting instead of laptop and you'll never guess who was on the screen….Zac Efron! It made my morning. Seriously, I was getting ready to die of boredom. Lol, now that I reread that it was kind of random. Anyway…I'll stop babbling . Please review! Thanks for reading!**


	10. One Syllable

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Before I start the chapter I have a few things to say...**

**I am so sorry this is really late, school was just really crazy, the marking period ended and the teachers go crazy trying to squeeze everything in. And my weekends have just been beyond packed, so I really am sorry!**

**HSM3!!! Enough said. Lol. In simplest terms, AMAZING! In my opinion the best of the three. The music was so great! Scream. Ahhh fantastic! And Can I Have This Dance – possibly the sweetest scene EVER! Lol. Being a dancer myself, I noticed the dancing, which was awesome! And finally the Troyellaness of it all!!! So much Troyella and it was all so cute! I almost died in my seat!**

**And last but certainly not least – I want to wish my dear friend Lizy (zvforever) a very happy birthday! This chapter is a late birthday present! **

**That's all, so before you all kill me….enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_Gabriella closed the door carefully, before locking it. For the first time in a long time she felt so elated. She and Troy had talked for hours and yet it had only seemed like a few minutes. The conversation had flowed so easily, and Gabriella felt safe in his presence, like she could be herself with him. _

_As Troy walked down the stairs of Yorkshire Apartments he couldn't wipe the smile off his face. Words couldn't describe how much he had enjoyed tonight. It had been simple, basically two friends chatting and yet he had learned so much about Gabriella. He'd seen the bubbly side of her tonight, which he loved. _

_He was so thankful that she'd opened up to him. He knew it had been difficult for her, the pain had been clearly evident in her voice and eyes, but he finally felt as if he was getting close to her, somewhere he definitely wanted to be._

Chapter Ten – One Syllable 

Gabriella and Lily sat on a blanket as they watched Lucas and Troy play a one on one game of basketball.

"So you told him everything?" Lily asked.

"Not everything" Gabriella clarified, "I just told him about mom. I guess I just wasn't ready to tell him about dad"

"But you're going to tell him right?"

Gabriella sighed, "Yes"

Lily sensed Gabriella's uncertainty; she placed her hand over Gabriella's, "He's a good guy Gabi, look at him, playing with Lucas. Look at last night. He cares"

"I know he does. I guess maybe I'm the one who's not ready to tell him." Gabriella confessed.

"None of us are ever going to be ready to face what happened" Lily said quietly. "But maybe Troy can help us. Maybe he can help you." She explained hopefully "Gabi you've worked so hard, you need someone to help you. I don't want to feel like we're burdening you"

Lily had been worrying about Gabriella for quite some time now. She was so thankful that Gabriella had taken Lucas and her away from their father but, she often felt as if Gabriella was giving up her life for Lucas and her. Lily hoped that Troy Bolton would be able to take some of the weight off of Gabriella's shoulders.

Gabriella let a comforting hand run down the side of Lily's arm, "I'm fine. I don't want you pair thinking you're a burden. I don't know what I would do without you" she spoke genuinely.

Lily threw her arms around Gabriella for a tight, loving hug. Just as the embrace ended Troy and Lucas came back over to the two girls, panting.

"Jeez, you didn't tell me your brother was awesome at basketball" Troy exclaimed.

"What can I say, my brother's amazing" Gabriella grinned. "Looks like the all mighty Troy Bolton has some serious competition"

Troy flashed Gabriella a sarcastic smile as Lucas placed his hands on his hips and pretended to buff up. Lily giggled.

"Well, I don't know about you guys but I think this calls for an ice cream" Troy stated.

"I think I can agree with that" Gabriella said as she pushed herself off the blanket and helped Lily up, before bending down again to pick up the blanket and fold it.

"I'll race you Lily!" Lucas challenged.

"You're on!"

The twins took off full speed towards the small ice cream shop at the other end of the park. Troy and Gabriella strolled along behind the two excited children.

"So what have you and Lily been talking about all this time?" Troy asked casually.

"Oh you know just some girl stuff"

"Ah… I see." Troy said, chuckling lightly as he stuffed his hands in the front pocket of his jeans.

"So wildcat, you really think my brother is good?"

"He's good Brie, he has it"

Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief, "Good. He just loves it so much that I would hate for him to be shut down when he's older"

Troy couldn't help but smile at Gabriella's sincere concern for her brother's well being.

"Trust me, he'll be on the team when he's in high school. Why don't you guys come to the game on Friday?" Troy suggested, a hint of hopefulness in his voice.

"I think Lucas would like that" Gabriella agreed.

"Good, the game starts at 7"

An ice cream each later the group sat at a picnic bench outside the park.

"You guys have no idea what you're talking about. Superman is so much better than batman!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Oh we have no idea what we're talking about. We're older, more experienced. Batman is definitely the better of the two." Gabriella argued.

"Being older doesn't always make your judgment better." Lily pointed out. "Besides, superman has super strength, super speed and he has x-ray vision. What powers does batman have?"

"Batman is so good he doesn't need powers. He uses his brain and technology _and _he is an expert in martial arts" Troy responded.

"Big whoop. If batman got shot he'd be dead, but superman would be able to stop the bullet." Lucas pointed out.

"Batman risks his life everyday to save people! He had to work hard to achieve his greatness. That's what makes him a hero. " Gabriella rebutted.

"And, batman can teach others his skills, whereas superman was a one off thing. So batman will save the world even when he's dead." Troy pointed out.

"But you guys aren't seeing the obvious, if batman and superman were to fight right now, superman would totally own batman"

"No batman would"

"Superman"

"Batman!"

"Superman!

As the sides continued to banter back and forth small raindrops began to fall from the sky. Slowly at first but soon the rain was coming down pretty hard. Troy grabbed the picnic blanket as Gabriella, Lucas and Lily began to run towards Troy's car.

When the four arrived Troy tossed Gabriella the blanket as he fumbled to find his keys. A single beep let the other three know they could open the car doors and hop inside. Once everyone was safely inside, Troy let out a relieved sigh.

"Jeez, what is it with Albuquerque? It doesn't rain for 3 weeks and then suddenly it has rained these past two days" Gabriella exclaimed running her fingers through her wet hair. Troy laughed,

"Welcome to Albuquerque"

--

That Wednesday Troy was walking down the hallway with Chad just after school.

"You wanna hang out before practice tonight?" Chad asked.

"I was actually gonna go to the library"

"Troy Bolton in the library? What are you not telling me?" Chad questioned skeptically.

"My math grade needs serious help. So Gabriella is helping me" Troy explained.

"Are you sure that's all she's helping you with?" Chad said suggestively.

Troy elbowed Chad.

"Oww! Jeez, sorry I was kidding" Chad apologized as he rubbed his side.

"Oh and it was so funny" Troy muttered sarcastically.

"You would usually laugh at a joke like that. What is up with – You really like her don't you?" Chad's voice softened slightly and he almost sounded shocked.

Troy began to shake his head, "No, what me? No"

"Oh come on Troy. We've been like brothers since preschool and now you're lying to my face?"

Troy sighed, "Ok so maybe I like her. What am I supposed to do about it?"

Chad rolled his eyes dramatically, "Well first you should tell her" he said mockingly.

Troy glared at his best friend as the pair rounded the corner.

"Seriously though, what's holding you back Troy. Just ask her out. It's not that hard" Chad said, patting Troy on the back as they arrived at the entrance to the library. "You'll be fine" Chad tried to assure Troy.

"Sure I will." Troy muttered as he watched Chad walk off.

Troy pushed the doors of the library open and quickly signed in at the front desk before scanning the library for Gabriella.

He found her sitting at a table near the back of the library by the large windows. Before making his way over he watched her for a few moments. She appeared to be doing some sort of English homework, as she would read for a few seconds and then scribble a few things down on a paper. He watched in awe as she would flip the pen so she could trace what she was reading with the back end of it. Then, as she flipped the pen and clicked it, she would stare at the paper for a few seconds longer before writing her answer on the paper.

Just as she turned the page in the book she looked up and made eye contact with Troy. Troy smiled, praying that she didn't think he had been staring at her. He made his way over to the table and sat across from her.

"Hi" Gabriella greeted.

"Hey. Whatcha working on?" Troy asked.

"Oh just English stuff. We had to read two stories from Uncle Tom's Children and then answer these questions. The stories are just so depressing." Gabriella sighed. "So I'm sure anything you have will be happier"

"Well, is precal really any better? Synthetic division? I don't know about you, but that doesn't exactly sound like a box of chocolates"

"Oh trust me. That sounds much better than the deaths I've been reading about. Where should we begin?" Gabriella asked.

"The beginning" Troy said.

"Funny" Gabriella answered sarcastically.

"No, I'm serious. My precal teacher never makes any sense" Troy explained.

"Ok, let's start"

50 minutes later Troy wrote his final answer for his final homework problem and dropped his pencil.

"Done"

Gabriella reached over and picked up Troy's paper to look over it. Her lips curved into a smile as she came to the end of the page.

"Good job wildcat. You got them all right!"

Troy grinned, "You are seriously an amazing teacher"

Gabriella shook her head sheepishly. "Nah, you're just a fast learner."

"If I was a fast learner I would've learned this is class. It's you" Troy pointed out. Gabriella smiled gratefully,

"Thanks"

"No, thank _you _Brie, you just saved my butt"

"Don't worry about it. Especially after everything you've done" Gabriella said. "And by the way I don't think I ever got the chance to really thank you for Saturday. Luc and Lily really enjoyed themselves"

"I'm glad I had a good time too" Troy smiled.

"And Lucas is really excited for the game on Friday. So you better not disappoint" Gabriella smiled.

"No pressure" Troy laughed sarcastically. Gabriella giggled as she glanced up at the clock.

"I guess I should go. Lucas and Lily will be finished soon."

"Finished with what?" Troy asked.

"Lucas goes to basketball after school on Wednesdays and Lily takes an art class" Gabriella explained as she packed up her books.

"Cool. Do you want me to drive you home?" Troy offered.

"Nah, we can walk" Gabriella insisted.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it's a beautiful day outside. And besides I know you have practice. You've been such a great friend. I wouldn't want you to be late for practice because of me. I'll see you tomorrow Troy" Gabriella smiled and turned to walk out of the library.

"Bye Brie" Troy said. Gabriella turned around briefly to wave her final goodbye.

Troy let his head fall on the table in front of him.

Friend.

One syllable and a knife in the heart.

**A/N: So that didn't quite end where I had originally planned, but I think it's for the better. Something tells me you'll like the next chapter, so I'll try to get it up as soon as I can. Thanks for reading. Please review!**


	11. A Basketball Game

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: I always feel so awful about keeping these chapters from you for such a long time. I wish I had more time to update! But I love you guys for standing by me even though I take a while to update! Thank you so much for all your support! Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

"_Yeah, it's a beautiful day outside. And besides I know you have practice. You've been such a great friend. I wouldn't want you to be late for practice because of me. I'll see you tomorrow Troy" Gabriella smiled and turned to walk out of the library. _

"_Bye Brie" Troy said. Gabriella turned around briefly to wave her final goodbye. _

_Troy let his head fall on the table in front of him. Friend. One syllable and a knife in the heart. _

Chapter Eleven – A Basketball Game

Gabriella walked into the exuberant East High Gym with Lucas and Lily by her side. She barely recognized the usually folded up bleachers, which were now filled with excited fans. People were milling around as if they knew exactly where they should be.

She looked up into the stands, scanning it for Taylor, Kelsi and Sharpay, who all promised to meet her there. However she hadn't expected so many people to be at the basketball game. She managed to tell Lucas and Lily a description of the three girls in hopes that they would see them first. Sure enough they did.

"There!" Lily exclaimed, pointing into the stands. "Is that them? Third row?"

Gabriella looked up and sure enough, there were Sharpay, Taylor and Kelsi sitting up in the bleachers. Gabriella nodded and led her brother and sister to the section of the stands her friends were sitting in.

Just as the trio arrived at the stairs, which led up to the row Taylor, Sharpay and Kelsi were sitting in, Kelsi noticed Gabriella approaching them. She smiled and waved Gabriella over. Gabriella let her siblings go in front of her, making sure they wouldn't get lost behind her in the sea of people.

Gabriella sat down next to Taylor with the twins on her right.

"Gabs, we're so glad you came. You're going to love it!" Sharpay greeted excitedly.

"It's true. First game I came to I thought was going to be a waste of time, but it turned out to be a ton of fun. Since then I've been to almost every game" Taylor agreed enthusiastically.

"We'll see. I know that Luc here won't be able to keep his eyes off the game" Gabriella laughed, looking at Lucas, who was already mesmerized by the excitement.

"Oh of course. You two must be Lucas and Lily. It's nice to meet you. I'm Kelsi" Kelsi greeted. "And this is Taylor and Sharpay" she motioned to her two friends. Lucas and Lily smiled.

"So not to sound stupid, but where are the guys? Shouldn't they be warming up or something?" Gabriella asked.

"Nah, the game never starts on time anyway. The boys spend way too long in the locker room." Taylor explained.

"Because they're nervous?"

Kelsi shook her head, "No. The guys rarely get nervous, usually only before a big game. But this is just a friendly game, you know – so the other teams can come scope each other out"

"So that's why all the guys have been going to a lot of other games this week."

"Yeah, that's also why the West High skunks are here" Sharpay groaned, motioning her head across the gym to a group of boys who had just entered.

"Their mascot is a skunk?" Lily asked in disbelief.

Lucas rolled his eyes, "No. Jeez, don't you know anything? West High and East High are mortal enemies. They hate each other" he explained.

"Well it's really only West High that hates everyone from East High with a passion. East High just doesn't like the basketball team. I have no problem with anyone else that goes to that school, it's just the team. They're all a bunch of you know whats." Taylor explained. Gabriella nodded understandingly. Just then Lucas shouted,

"Look! It's starting!"

Gabriella turned her head to the basketball court. She caught the tail-end of the Eagles running onto the court. From the other corner of the gym the wildcats came running through a large banner. The gym erupted into cheers as the team made quick lap around the gym and began shooting baskets. Just after Troy made a lay-up, he glanced into the stands, his eyes quickly finding Gabriella's. He grinned brightly at her as he passed the stands. Gabriella smiled back, blushing slightly as Troy singled her out.

Taylor glanced at the two other girls sitting next to her, smiling as they watched the interaction between Troy and Gabriella. Taylor knew about Troy's feelings towards Gabriella, after all Chad was her boyfriend.

The attraction between the pair was obvious, but Gabriella always seemed to change the subject when the relationship between Troy and her was brought up. Despite the fact that Gabriella refused to admit that she was falling for Troy, Taylor could see it. Gabriella smiled so much brighter when it was aimed at Troy.

She had spent some time thinking about why Gabriella guarded her heart so carefully. Maybe she was afraid of being betrayed again since her mother left her. But Taylor couldn't help but wonder if there was something else, something that was preventing Gabriella from opening up to them.

Gabriella was such an amazing person; she just hoped that Gabriella saw in herself what the gang saw in her.

--

After a landslide win Troy, Chad and the rest of the team made their way out the locker room after showering and changing.

"We still got it!" Chad proclaimed patting Troy on the back.

"Hell yeah. We're gonna have a kick-ass season" Troy agreed as the group walked into the almost empty gym. A familiar group of people still sat in the third row of bleachers awaiting the arrival of their favorite players. Troy, Chad, Jason and Zeke dropped their bags by the bleachers before greeting the group.

Sharpay, Taylor and Kelsi jumped down to kiss their respective boyfriends while Gabriella hugged Troy.

"Great job wildcat!" she exclaimed happily.

"Thanks. Do I have you hooked?"

"I'm gonna have to say yes" Gabriella smiled.

"And what about Lucas and Lily? Did they enjoy it?" Troy asked.

Gabriella couldn't help but laugh as she motioned her head over to the court. Lucas and Lily were already playing a game of basketball and from the looks of it the rest of the gang was just about to get involved.

"Does that answer your question?"

Troy grinned.

"I want to show you something" he said suddenly, turning to face her. "Come with me"

Gabriella looked worried and slightly skeptical.

"I can't just leave Luc and Lily here"

"I bet you they won't even notice we've gone. The gang will take good care of them" Troy assured her. "Come on" he said, taking her hand. Gabriella glanced back at her brother and sister before she allowed Troy to lead her out of the gym.

--

Through the glass of doors on the far side of the gym a group of teenage boys watched the scene unbeknownst to the gang. The leader of the group was James Scott, the captain of the West High Knights and he was angry.

It wasn't because East High had won the game; it was because Troy Bolton had improved from last year. James had hoped that this year would be the year West High could finally steal all the glory from East High. Most of all he could steal the glory from Troy Bolton – the person who James Scott hated above all others. And now to make matters worse, not only was he playing better but he was happier as well.

"Who the hell is that girl?" he almost growled. "That girl" seemed to be the root of Troy's newfound happiness. James had watched Troy like a hawk during the game and he'd noticed that Troy had looked up at "that girl" more than several times during the game.

The very tall boy who stood beside James shook his head, "I don't know. I've never seen her before"

"Find out who she is."

--

Troy led Gabriella down the hallway until they came to the music room. She looked confused,

"What are we doing here?" she asked.

Troy smiled slyly,

"Well I believe that you and I have a deal."

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Gabriella said, almost laughing at the seriousness of his voice.

"You heard me singing. So you know what that means, it's your turn to sing for me." Troy grinned, patting the grand piano. Gabriella began shaking her head quickly,

"No, no. That's not fair. I didn't mean to have heard you. It just…I just walked up to the rooftop on Thursday and there you were, singing" Gabriella protested.

"Still counts" Troy reminded her.

"But but! You were good. Really good and I…"she trailed off.

"Brie come on, please" Troy said, squeezing her hand. Gabriella looked up at him, then back down at the piano, trying to make her decision. Taking one last long look at Troy, she sighed and made her way to the piano. She sat down on the bench and Troy sat down next to her. Taking yet another breath Gabriella placed her hands on the piano keys.

Pressing down, she began to let her fingers dance across the keys, creating the music. She took one last hopeful glance at Troy before beginning to sing,

_I love the time and in between  
The calm inside me  
In this space where I can breathe  
I believe there is a distance I have wandered  
To touch upon the years  
Reaching out and reaching in  
Holding out holding in _

Troy watched in awe as she sang so beautifully. Her voice was pure, sweet and absolutely breathtaking. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her figure as her fingers danced over the keys on the piano.

_I believe  
This is heaven to no one else but me  
And I'll defend it long as I can be left here to linger in silence  
If I chose to would you try to understand_

It was then, as Troy listened to Gabriella sing, that he knew he had to make his move today. He needed to. He couldn't keep it inside any longer. She was the epitome of perfection and she need to be his.

_Oh the quiet child awaits the day when she can break free  
The mold that clings like desperation  
Oh mother don't you see I've got  
To live my life the way I feel is right for me,  
Say it's not right for you  
But it's right for me_

Gabriella let her eyes close and her head fall backwards as the words flowed from her mouth.

_I believe  
This is heaven to no one else but me  
And I'll defend it as long as  
I can be left here to linger in silence  
If I choose to  
Would you try to understand it_

_I would like to linger here in silence  
If I choose to  
Would you understand it  
Would you try to understand._

Gabriella let her hands fall gently from the piano to her jeans, which she began to rub nervously,

"That's it" she whispered meekly. Troy couldn't help but be completely awe-struck. The girl he thought couldn't amaze him anymore, just had. The tone of her voice was so beautiful, she managed to sing the song with a sincerity that Troy couldn't help but admire.

"That was amazing Brie" Troy said softly. Gabriella looked down bashfully twiddling with the hem of her shirt. Troy moved closer to Gabriella.

"I mean it. It was beautiful. Almost as beautiful as you" he whispered. Gabriella looked up as she heard his last statement, confusion written all over her eyes. She couldn't possibly have heard correctly. Had Troy just said she was beautiful?

Troy let his hand gently brush against hers,

"You're beautiful" he whispered again. "More so than anyone I've ever known. I think I'm falling for you" he confessed.

From the way Gabriella was staring blankly at him, Troy wondered if this had indeed been a good idea. Why had he listened to Chad? _"She doesn't really mean she wants to be friends Troy, she just said that because she's afraid to confess her true feelings" _Troy let his mind mock Chad's advice from earlier that day.

"I think I'm falling for you too" she whispered finally, her voice almost seemed terrified, but then she went back on her statement, "But, no you can't be falling for me. I mean I'm…" she looked down at herself, almost in disgust, "…me."

Troy's hand grazed the soft skin of her hand, "That's precisely why I have fallen. Because _you _never cease to amaze me, you're unlike anyone I've ever known. You're perfect" he said genuinely

Gabriella gazed up at him with glossy, vulnerable eyes,

"I'm a mess Troy" she murmured.

Troy, feeling brave, let his hand move up to her cheek and stroked it gently,

"It doesn't matter." He whispered. Gabriella felt a calmness come over her as Troy caressed her cheek. His touch seemed to make everything else slip away. All the bad in the world was gone and for that one moment in time all Gabriella could think about was how hard she was falling for Troy.

With each passing day she felt a deeper connection with Troy. Sometimes she found herself on the phone with him for hours, while Lucas and Lily were sleeping, talking about life and its fortunes and misfortunes. Not that their conversations were always extremely serious, they often had conversations which ended in the pair of them laughing hysterically. But what really got Gabriella was that whenever she was with Troy, she felt like the most important person in the world and she felt as if she had a place on this earth.

Troy's hand moved down her upper arm, then down her forearm, until it laced itself with Gabriella's hand,

"Be my girlfriend" he murmured as more of a hopefully statement than anything.

Most of Gabriella was screaming yes. But there was a tiny part of her that wondered if this was a good idea. Truthfully she was afraid. She was afraid of what might happen, she was afraid of opening her heart and she was terrified of her heart breaking. But as she gazed back at Troy's cerulean eyes she saw a trust in his eyes which she couldn't help but falter at.

"Yes" Gabriella whispered.

**A/N: There you have it! Hopefully that was worth the wait! I'm hoping I'll be able update sooner next time because I'm really excited for the next chapter! It's going to be Troyella's first date. : ) If there are any specific things anyone would like to see happen, let me know and I'll try to weave them in! Thank you for reading, please review!**

**Oh by the way, the song Gabriella sang was called Elsewhere. It was originally sung by Sarah McLachlan, but the version I used was sung by Bethany Joy Galeotti. That scene was kind of inspired by the scene she sang that song in on One Tree Hill. I'll post both the scene and the full song just in case you want to watch both. Thanks again!**


	12. Open Your Heart

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Hey everyone! Today I felt so Christmasy! We decorated our tree, got our traditional new ornament each and we decorated the outside of our house!!! It looks so pretty – hehe. But anyway - Enjoy…**

* * *

_Last Time…_

_Troy's hand moved down her upper arm, then down her forearm, until it laced itself with Gabriella's hand, _

"_Be my girlfriend" he murmured as more of a hopefully statement than anything. _

_Most of Gabriella was screaming yes. But there was a tiny part of her that wondered if this was a good idea. Truthfully she was afraid. She was afraid of what might happen, she was afraid of opening her heart and she was terrified of her heart breaking. But as she gazed back at Troy's cerulean eyes she saw a trust in his eyes which she couldn't help but falter at. _

"_Yes" Gabriella whispered. _

Chapter Twelve- Open Your Heart

"Thanks again for doing this tonight" Gabriella said.

"Don't worry about it Gabs. Now sit still so I can finish your makeup." Taylor insisted, as she brought the mascara brush up to Gabriella's eye lashes.

"What time is he coming at again?" Taylor asked as carefully brushed on the black mascara.

"Um, he said 5:30. Why? What time is it?" Gabriella asked nervously. Taylor quickly glanced at the clock, cringing slightly as she watched the clock change to exactly 5:30. Troy was usually late right?

Wrong. At that exact moment she heard the doorbell ring.

"Is that? Oh my god! I'm not even dressed!" Gabriella panicked.

"Gabriella, chill. Your makeup is done now so all you have to do is get dressed. I'll get the door. Just come out when you're ready" Taylor spoke calmly. Gabriella nodded quickly as she watched Taylor disappear from the room.

By the time Taylor made it to the door Lucas and Lily were not far behind her. She opened the door to reveal Troy standing in the hall with dark jeans and a blue button-up shirt on.

"Hey Troy, come on in. Gabriella should be ready in a few minutes" Taylor said. "I'm just going to make sure she's all set"

With that Taylor went back into Gabriella's room, to find Gabriella smoothing out the deep purple silk blouse she had on.

"Are you sure I look ok?" Gabriella asked turning to Taylor. "It's not too much?"

Gabriella was dressed in a plum colored blouse paired with dark jeans and simple black heels. Her hair was down, in its natural curly fashion and her makeup was simple and natural, with a little bit of shimmer on her eyelids.

"Gabs you look amazing." Taylor assured her. "Now come on, let's go!" Taylor said excitedly, tossing Gabriella her purse.

The two girls walked out into the living room and Troy grinned upon seeing Gabriella. She walked over to him and he kissed her lightly on the cheek,

"You look beautiful" he whispered. Gabriella smiled bashfully,

"Thank you"

"So you ready to go?" Troy asked. Gabriella nodded,

"Yeah. Now Lucas and Lily you guys better be good for Taylor."

"We will" the twins chimed

"And Taylor, the apartment is yours, use whatever you need" Gabriella said. Taylor nodded appreciatively. "I think that's everything" Gabriella finished, glancing up at Troy as if he knew if she was missing something.

"And Lucas I promise to take good care of her" Troy promised. Gabriella looked between Lucas and Troy, confused.

"I'll explain later, you're going to laugh" Troy whispered in Gabriella's ear.

"Bye guys" Gabriella said as Troy began to usher her towards the door. Taylor shut the door behind them and locked it.

Troy's hand found Gabriella's and the pair walked hand in hand down to Troy's car. Being the gentleman he was, Troy opened the passenger's side door for Gabriella and shut it for her after she was inside the car.

Once Troy had the engine started and was backing out of the parking spot, Gabriella asked curiously,

"So what did Lucas say to you?"

Troy chuckled as he thought back to the short conversation he had had with Lucas.

"He very sternly told me I was to take very good care of you tonight and that if I ever hurt you I would face untold consequences." Troy couldn't help but mock the serious tone Lucas had spoken in. Gabriella laughed and covered her face in slight embarrassment.

"I actually felt as if I was being grilled, kind of like something a dad would do." Troy explained, shuddering slightly in fear of meeting Gabriella's father, "At least I didn't have to meet your dad tonight."

Gabriella managed to smile meekly at Troy's last comment. Troy would hopefully never meet her father. Maybe one day she would tell him about the days when she considered her father to be the best in the world. Those memories were the only ones she cherished as memories of her _father_. The torturous man she had known for the past 7 years was not her father, or at least someone she didn't want to consider her father.

"When's he getting back anyway?" Troy asked.

"Um…I'm not sure exactly" Gabriella said quietly, "Sometime this week, I think"

Lying to Troy was becoming increasingly hard. Gabriella had never been a big liar, but she never hated it. Now, when she lied to Troy she felt as if she was betraying him. She felt like she was a terrible person. Shaking her head gently, Gabriella changed the subject,

"So what about your parents? I'm not meeting them tonight am I?" She asked. Troy smiled, amused with Gabriella's new tone.

"Well you've already met my dad, haven't you? Gym class?" Troy reminded her.

"I know, but I haven't had to do the awkward meeting thing with you introducing us formally." Gabriella pointed out.

"Fair enough. But I'm warning you, you'll have to meet them sometime time soon. My mom is beginning to bug me about it. She's very excited to meet you." Troy explained rolling his eyes.

Gabriella laughed, "I'm sure she's not that bad"

"You don't know my mother" he said. Gabriella laughed.

"Well at least you don't have younger siblings who threaten your boyfriend" she reminded him.

"Oh but I have older siblings who I can already see embarrassing me." Troy laughed. "But what are you going to do? All families have their quirks, don't they?"

"You can stay that again" Gabriella murmured.

--

It took about 20 more minutes for Troy and Gabriella to reach their destination. Troy pulled into the very small parking lot that contained three other cars.

'Meade Memorial Park' read the sign that arched over a black metal gate. Troy turned to Gabriella and smiled,

"We're here"

Gabriella grinned back and unlocked the door, so she could get out of the car, Troy did the same. Making his way around to the back of the car, Troy opened the boot of the car to pull out an insulated black bag. As he shut the boot, Gabriella looked at him quizzically.

"What? You didn't think I was going to let you go hungry? And I couldn't let the food get cold." Troy explained.

Gabriella smiled, "That was very thoughtful of you. Can I carry anything?"

Troy shook his head, "No, I have everything right here in this nifty bag. Now let's go we've got a little bit of a walk" Troy slung the bag over his shoulder as beckoned Gabriella towards the black gate. With his free hand he pulled the gate open and allowed Gabriella to walk through first.

"So how did you find this place?" Gabriella asked as the two walked along a path surrounded by trees.

"My grandparents used to take me here all the time when I was younger. My favorite spot is by the pond. My brother and I used to push each other in all the time, then my grandparents would make us lay in the sun until we dried off so we didn't go home soaking wet." Troy explained, laughing slightly at the memory.

"Well if you're taking me there, you better not push me" Gabriella warned.

"I wasn't planning on it, but now that you mention it…." Troy gave Gabriella a cheeky smile. Gabriella rolled her eyes.

When the two came to a fork in the path, they veered to the left and came to a pond surrounded by grass with large willow trees on one side. There were small wildflowers scattered throughout the grassy area. Gabriella looked over at Troy, smiling at the serenity of the area.

"You like it?" Troy asked hopefully.

"I love it"

"I hoped you would" Troy smiled. "Come on let's go over there" Troy motioned to the trees.

Troy set the bag down and unzipped it. He pulled out a plaid blanket and laid it out beside him. Then he pulled out four battery operated lanterns –for when it got dark. Finally he pulled out 4 white containers.

"You like Chinese right?"

"Are you kidding? I love Chinese." Gabriella grinned. "What kind did you get?" she asked, beginning to open the boxes and peer inside.

"Thank you! Lo Mein, ooo and Sweet and Sour Chicken." She said excitedly, "Fried rice and dumplings!"

Troy couldn't help but grin at Gabriella's excitement. He pulled out two pairs of chop sticks and handed one to Gabriella.

Gabriella let out a sigh of relief,

"Thank god, you eat Chinese food with chop sticks! It bothers me when people don't" She looked slightly embarrassed at her last statement and immediately back tracked, "I'm sorry, I'm just…weird like that."

"No, no, definitely not weird" Troy assured her. "Now dig in, I'm assuming you're cool with eating out of the containers right?"

Gabriella grinned, "Totally"

By the time all the food had been devoured, it was getting dark. So, Troy turned on the lanterns and reached into the black bag to pull out two fortune cookies. Gabriella quickly tore through the plastic wrapping. Splitting the cookie in half, she pulled out the white slip of paper, her eyes scanning it quickly.

"What does the future hold for you?" she asked Troy. Troy swallowed the part of the cookie he had in his mouth and lifted up the paper to read,

"Next time you have the opportunity, go on a rollercoaster." Troy smiled, laughing silently, "Ok, random much. What about yours?"

"Mine says, Open your heart." Gabriella smiled weakly; this had to be some sort of sign.

"Now, what does "yúncăi" mean?" Troy asked putting on a funny Chinese accent.

"I have no idea" Gabriella laughed at Troy's strange pronunciation.

"It means clouds" Troy said.

"Well then, what does "tiāné" mean?" Gabriella asked.

"Swan" Troy said quickly. Gabriella's jaw dropped,

"How'd you know that?"

"Oh, I might have forgotten to mention I speak Chinese" Troy explained causally. Gabriella raised an eyebrow,

"Are you serious?"

Troy nodded, popping the last of his fortune cookie into his mouth. Gabriella looked completely dumbstruck.

"How did you learn _Chinese_?" she asked in disbelief.

Troy couldn't contain his laughter at the fact that she had actually believed him. He shook his head,

"Are you kidding, I don't speak Chinese. I just saw the back of your piece of paper while you were reading your fortune"

Once again Gabriella's mouth dropped open,

"Troy!" she exclaimed, swatting him, "That's no fair"

Troy smiled cheekily.

"Next time you can trick someone into thinking you speak Chinese" he reminded her.

"Oh yeah, like someone will fall for that" Gabriella said sarcastically.

"Hey, you're the one believed that I spoke Chinese" Troy defended holding his hands up.

Gabriella shook her head, "No I didn't"

"Oh" Troy chuckled "You totally believed I spoke Chinese"

"I did not" Gabriella insisted.

"Whatever you say Brie…" Troy trailed off, smirking at her.

--

After an hour of talking and laughing the pair fell into a comfortable silence as they lay side by side, gazing up at the night sky.

After a few minutes of being consumed in their own thoughts Troy spoke softly,

"For the record, you're not a mess. You cope with everything very well. In fact, sometimes I don't know how you do it. You take care of Lucas and Lily, work two jobs and still managed to keep your grades up. I just hope your dad gets home soon to help you out with everything" Troy confessed.

Gabriella averted her gaze from Troy's and looked up to the bright stars, searching for guidance.

She knew Troy trusted her, he had told her so and she knew she _should _trust him. It had been her original intention not to let anyone in, not to tell anyone about her secret, her fears, but now she couldn't help but question her previous logic. Would her life really be better if Troy didn't know? Was it fair to keep lying to him?

However, she couldn't help but feel concerned about the safety of her siblings. Her greatest fear was not having to face her father again, but having to watch her siblings cry out as their father beat them. She couldn't go through the pain again.

But all the lying would catch up with her eventually. She couldn't possibly keep telling her friends her father was away on a business trip. They were smart people; they were going to start asking questions sooner or later. She cared about them, a lot, especially Troy. It was unfair to keep something like this from them.

The more time she spent with Troy the harder she fell for him, the deeper she felt their connection grow. She'd only know him for a few months yet he knew more about her than any of her other friends. He'd been so good to her, she owed him this. She trusted him. For the first time in her life Gabriella trusted someone other than family. She trusted Troy Bolton

Taking a deep breath she turned her head back to face Troy.

"Can I tell you something?" she asked quietly. Troy's head turned and his eyes focused on hers,

"Of course"

"And you promise not to be mad?" Gabriella asked pushing herself up, so she was sitting.

"You know you can tell me anything" He assured her as he sat up as well.

"There are some things you don't know about me, that make my life a mess" Gabriella began shakily. Troy looked very concerned by the tone of her voice,

"Brie, what is it?" he coaxed gently.

"Do you remember the story I told you about the night my mom left?" she asked. Troy nodded

"I left out a part of the story. After my dad stayed downstairs cursing and angry he…he came upstairs into my room" Gabriella took a deep trembling breath before she continued, "And then he started to yell at me" Gabriella felt a tear trickle down her cheek, she knew what was coming next and wasn't sure if she could say it. Troy moved closer to Gabriella and took her hand in his, gently stroking his thumb over her hand.

"He told it me it was my fault and no one else's she had left. He told me it was my fault Lucas and Lily would never really know their mother. He told me she hated me, he hated me, Lucas and Lily would hate me and everyone I met would hate me. And at 10 years old I believed him" Gabriella let out a painful sob.

Troy wasn't sure what to say, he had known Gabriella blamed herself for her mother's departure, but he had no idea it had been her father who had convinced her.

"Oh Brie" he whispered gently. Gabriella shook her head,

"Let me finish" she whispered. "He said I would pay for what I had done and then he lunged forward and…punched me. I…I screamed and he…he…"Gabriella closed her eyes, "He told me if I made another sound he would…he would kill me. That was the first night he beat me" She opened her tear filled eyes to look at Troy, whose expression was unreadable.

"It stopped after that right?" Troy asked slowly, hopefully. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer. A father beating his own children was unthinkable, but to do it repeatedly was despicable. Again, Gabriella closed her eyes as tears leaked out. She very slowly shook her head side to side,

"No" she sobbed. Troy inhaled sharply, immediately pulling Gabriella's shaking body towards his, engulfing it in a strong comforting hug. He rubbed her back gently as he tried to think of what to say. She looked so vulnerable in his arms that he didn't want to upset her more.

"Brie" he whispered "You have to tell the police. They'll make it stop"

Gabriella pulled sharply away from the embrace,

"No" she cried "No you can tell anyone Troy. There's more"

Troy couldn't quite believe there was any more to this terrible story.

"I couldn't take it anymore, after all those years it was too much. I couldn't stand the pain of having to watch my little brother and sister come crying to me, bleeding and bruised." More tears ran from her eyes as the harsh memories returned.

"I started to devise a plan to get out. I didn't want to tell the police because they would separate Lucas and Lily from me – they're the only family I have I couldn't lose them. So I decided that we would run away. I threw a push pin at a map of the United States and it landed on Albuquerque. One night in August he went out to a bar after hurting me and we just left." Gabriella explained quietly tears still running down her face.

"If we tell the police they'll send us back. I can't go back. I can't let him hurt us again" she cried softly. "Please promise me you won't tell anyone but our friends. Please Troy"

The vulnerability in Gabriella's eyes was so severe that Troy was afraid she would break down again.

"I promise Brie. I promise I won't tell anyone but the gang. And I promise I won't let him hurt you again" Troy pledged firmly.

Gabriella collapsed into Troy's arms, sobbing. She tried never to think about her past life, never to remember the pain and suffering she had experienced and now that she had let it all out, her heart ached. Saying it all aloud made it seem so real. But for the first time since she was ten years old she felt free, she felt as if everything was going to be alright. For the first time since she was ten Gabriella Montez murmured three specific words,

"I trust you"

Troy kissed Gabriella's soft, sweet smelling hair as he held her in his arms. He was so glad she'd told him. But now he couldn't help but feel afraid for her, worried for her. He couldn't stand the thought of knowing her ass of a father was out there. He'd meant what he'd said to Gabriella shortly before, he would protect her. Her father was not getting anywhere near Gabriella or Lucas or Lily. Troy felt pain knowing that underneath Gabriella's clothes there were probably years worth of scars and bruises. He closed his eyes in an attempt to get rid of terrible images of a Gabriella being beaten by her father.

Despite the fact that the girl in his arms was sobbing Troy couldn't help but admire her strength. She's been mentally and physically abused for years and yet she managed to start a new life for herself. Granted her living situations could change drastically at any time, but for now she was set. On top of that he knew she would do anything for her siblings. The way she'd spoken about the pain she made it seem as if she would rather be beaten herself than watch her siblings cry out in pain. A trait he couldn't help but wonder if possessed.

As he thought about the logistics of the entire operation it was pretty extraordinary what she was doing. Somehow she had managed to lie to the Albuquerque School board; somehow she must have lied to her old school district and now she was single handedly raising her brother and sister. This new found information explained so many incidents. It explained why she pushed herself so hard to work two jobs, why she was always worried about leaving the twins too long at their school, she did it because she loved them so much and was trying to give them everything she had.

As Gabriella's tears subsided and her breathing became more regular she slowly lifted up her head, furiously wiping the tears which still remained on her face. She knew her make-up was probably ruined and she probably looked like a wreck.

"I'm sorry about all these tears" she apologized "You've only known me for a month and this is the second time I've broken down like this"

Troy let his hands rub her forearms, "You have nothing to be sorry for or ashamed about. I want to be the person you can talk to about anything"

Gabriella nodded, "I know that now. But can you tell the gang about this? I don't know if I'm strong enough to explain my mess of life to them"

"Of course I will. But I don't want to hear you say you're not strong enough, because from what you've just told me, Brie you are so, so strong, so fearless. Look at you, you travel across the country into the unknown as a sixteen year old with two 10 year old siblings. Some adults wouldn't have the strength to do what you do. You're amazing." Troy spoke sternly, but softly.

Gabriella wasn't really sure what came over her in the coming moments but the combination of the little speech Troy had just given her, the sincerity in his voice and way he had listened and comforted her had triggered an extreme gratitude which she decided to express by pressing her lips against his in a simple kiss.

But as soon as Gabriella felt Troy's surprise she pulled away babbling nervously,

"I don't know what came over me, I just…I don't know. It just happened and-"

She was cut off by Troy's lips on hers. At first she was shocked, but she allowed herself to melt into the soft, simple kiss letting her arms wrap around his neck. She felt his hands move gently down her back. Gabriella smiled against the sweet kiss before she slowly pulled away, keeping her forehead pressed against his.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that" Troy whispered. Gabriella smiled,

"I think I might"

* * *

**A/N: Wow, ok long chapter. I hope you all liked it! Obviously Gabriella's confession was the most important part (well maybe the second, if you like fluff!) so I tried to make sure it worked well. I'd really like to hear your opinion – so be honest!!! Thanks so much for reading!**

**OH! The Chinese stuff…Those are real fortunes by the way…yes even the rollercoaster one, I got that and I was like WTF so yeah. As for the Chinese, well I don't speak Chinese – I lie I can say hello in Chinese but that's it, so if the translations are wrong…..my bad. **


	13. Stamp of Approval

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. Christmas break is almost here so I'll be able to update a little more frequently :)**** Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_Gabriella wasn't really sure what came over her in the coming moments but the combination of the little speech Troy had just given her, the sincerity in his voice and way he had listened and comforted her had triggered an extreme gratitude which she decided to express by pressing her lips against his in a simple kiss. _

_But as soon as Gabriella felt Troy's surprise she pulled away babbling nervously, _

"_I don't know what came over me, I just…I don't know. It just happened and-"_

_She was cut off by Troy's lips on hers. At first she was shocked, but she allowed herself to melt into the soft, simple kiss letting her arms wrap around his neck. She felt his hands move gently down her back. Gabriella smiled against the sweet kiss before she slowly pulled away, keeping her forehead pressed against his. _

"_You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that" Troy whispered. Gabriella smiled, _

"_I think I might"_

Chapter Thirteen- Stamp of Approval

Two days before Thanksgiving Troy sat around the dinner table with not just his parents like usual, but with his brother and sister. His 23 year old sister Nora had just returned home from medical school in California that afternoon. While Alex, his 21 year old brother had returned from Duke University the previous afternoon.

Wrapped up in the excitement of their two eldest children returning home his parents were currently paying no attention to Troy. But Troy wasn't complaining, in fact he was quite content to listen to his siblings' tales of college life. For once it was nice not to be grilled about every aspect of his day.

As Nora began using medical jargon to explain cases she had seen while interning, Troy quickly found himself bored and drifting into his own world of thoughts.

It had been about a month since his date with Gabriella and he had never been happier. The pair was even more inseparable than before. They had become each other's best friend, confiding in each other every worry and every happiness. They spent long hours on the phone at night and were in almost constant communication.

The day after the date was the day Troy had told the rest of the gang about Gabriella's past. They were all completely shocked and devastated by the news. It was almost impossible to picture sweet Gabriella being tortured in her own home. Nevertheless, they promised to support her in any way they could.

Troy could feel himself changing, for the better of course, because of Gabriella. She was beautiful, intelligent, kind hearted, and as cheesy as it sounded, she made him a better person. She was the person he worked hard at practice and in school for, she was the one he got out of bed in the morning for and she was the one he would do anything for.

Troy sighed as his thoughts were interrupted. He heard his name being used in conjunction with Gabriella's in the conversation at the other end of the table. He looked up from his food to listen in.

"Woah, wait what? Troy has a girlfriend? Our Troy?" Alex asked mockingly.

"No, the place Troy." Nora muttered sarcastically.

"Ha. Ha" Alex laughed dryly at his sister. "What's her name?" he asked, directing the question to Troy.

"Gabriella" Troy answered simply.

"Ooh, that's such a pretty name. How'd you meet her? What's she like? What does she look like? Do you guys like her?"Nora asked excitedly turning to Mrs. Bolton.

"Well I wouldn't know. I haven't met Gabriella yet" Lucille said, slightly annoyed.

Nora looked shocked as she looked between Troy and her mother, "What? How long have you been together?"

"It's been a month, but they've been friends since the beginning of the school year." Lucille answered before Troy could even open his mouth.

"A month! What is wrong with this family? I swear you're taking after Alex, it took him 6 months to introduce his girlfriend to us, and now Troy is going down that same path. What is wrong with you guys?" Nora exclaimed.

"Nora chill, a month is not that long. Maybe Troy's gonna end it soon" Alex pointed out.

"Oh my god Troy, how are you going to do it? Don't be an ass, do it in person. Trust me, it will be better that way." Nora explained.

"Woah, who said anything about ending it? I don't plan on ending it anytime soon." Troy said.

"So why haven't you brought her home?" Nora demanded. "Are you afraid she won't like us? Are you afraid we won't like her, because I'll be cool with her as long as she's not some psycho, stuck up bitch. Hasn't dad met her already? He hasn't said anything, so he must like her –huh dad?"

"She's a very nice girl. And I can tell that Troy over here likes her – a lot, so she gets my stamp of approval." Jack explained.

"Well she still needs my stamp of approval" Lucille reminded them.

Suddenly Nora gasped, "I have _the _best idea! Invite her and her family for Thanksgiving!"

Lucille grinned, "That's a fantastic idea! What do you think Troy?"

Troy thought about the proposal. He liked the idea, mostly because he knew Gabriella would love the idea. This only slight worry was that his family would get really nosey and ruin everything for him. But maybe if he just laid down some ground rules things wouldn't get so bad.

"I'll ask her tomorrow" Troy answered finally. "But she'll have to bring her brother and sister, they're 10"

"That's perfect, Uncle David, Aunt Lisa, Jacob and Grace are coming so the kids can play together. What about her parents?" Lucille asked.

_Crap._

"Her dad is away on business" Troy lied. He figured he might as well stick to Gabriella's original story.

"At Thanksgiving?" Nora sounded shocked.

"Her mother must be so disappointed" Lucille said.

Troy sighed, there was no way getting around this one. He had to just tell them about Gabriella's mom.

"Gabriella's mom isn't in the picture anymore. She left them when Gabriella was 10" Troy explained quietly. "So please don't bring it up tomorrow."

"So she's taking care of her siblings all by herself right now?" Lucille asked.

Troy nodded.

His mother gasped slightly, "Then make sure that she comes. She deserves a good thanksgiving meal"

--

The Bolton house was buzzing with people on Thanksgiving Day. All of the excitement was centered in the kitchen, where the family was chatting.

Lucille's younger sister, Lisa had arrived that morning along with her husband David and their two kids, Jacob and Grace. Jacob was 11 and Grace was 9. Jacob and Grace were working on a puzzle while the adults were preparing food. It was almost 3 o'clock and with the way things were going dinner would probably be ready at around 5.

"What time is Gabriella coming at?" Lucille asked.

"I said about 3" Troy explained.

"And what are her brother and sister called again?" Nora tried to recall their names.

"Lucas and Lily." He reminded them. Just then the sound of the doorbell rang through the kitchen.

"That must be them!" Lucille exclaimed, setting down her knife. Troy was suddenly nervous too, he prayed this wouldn't be a disaster. Putting down his own knife, he made his way to the doorway of the kitchen. Just before exiting the kitchen he turned back to his family,

"Just please try not to harass them with questions" he warned.

"We won't now go! Go answer the door!" Lucille insisted.

Troy turned and made his way to the front door. Opening it, he found a slightly nervous looking Gabriella and two excited ten year olds.

"Hi Troy!" Lucas exclaimed.

"We made you guys these cookies! Well, Gabi helped, she's the only one who knows the recipe except grandma, but Lucas and I did the hard parts!" Lily insisted.

Troy laughed, "Is that so? Why don't you go into the kitchen and give them to my mom? You won't be able to miss her, she's the one that's really excited to meet you" he motioned down the hallway. Lucas and Lily slipped off their shoes and handed Gabriella's their coats before they walked down the hallway.

Troy turned back to Gabriella and pulled her close, kissing her softly. He smiled into the kiss as he inhaled her sweet scent. Pulling away from the kiss he whispered,

"You smell like lemons and cinnamon"

"I do? Oh god!" Gabriella exclaimed, trying to rummage through her purse to see if she had anything to cover up the smell, but Troy quickly stopped her,

"No, no I love it." Troy said kindly.

"Really? It's just we spent most of the day baking all the cookies and I guess the smell kinda stuck" Gabriella confessed.

"Well I like it" Troy grinned. "Now, give me your coat so we can go into the kitchen before my mother dies of anxiousness."

"I don't know what she's expecting, it's just me" Gabriella almost laughed as she pulled off her coat and hand it to Troy along with Lucas and Lily's coats.

"And that is exactly what she is expecting. You" Troy grinned, "My beautiful girlfriend"

Gabriella blushed slightly, running her fingers through the first section of her hair, "You sure I'm dressed ok for the occasion? I wasn't sure what to wear"

Troy glanced at Gabriella's outfit. Gabriella was dressed in a casual, blue turtleneck sweater dress. She wore black tights and black shoes which matched the black beaded necklace she had on. Her curls tumbled down her back and over her shoulders and her makeup was done naturally.

"You look perfect" Troy assured her. Gabriella smiled,

"And you look very handsome yourself wildcat"

Troy grinned and took Gabriella's hand in his,

"You ready?"

Gabriella nodded.

Troy led Gabriella down the hallway and into the kitchen. He could see him mother leaning over the kitchen table, introducing Grace and Jacob to Lily and Lucas. The rest of his family were all busy preparing their assigned foods. He cleared his throat to signal his presence. Immediately his entire family turned to look at the couple who had just entered the kitchen. A grin spread across Lucille's face as she saw Gabriella.

"You must be Gabriella. It's lovely to meet you" she greeted warmly as she made her way over to the pair. Gabriella let go of Troy's hand so she could extend it to shake Lucille's hand.

"It's nice to meet you as well Mrs. Bolton, thank you so much for having us over, it means a lot" Gabriella said kindly.

Lucille smiled, "It is our pleasure. We've been looking forward to meeting you. And thank you by the way for the cookies, you really didn't have to bring anything"

"Lucas and Lily had a lot of fun making those today, trust me we were happy to make them" Gabriella insisted. Troy stepped forward, placing his hand on the small of Gabriella's back as he began to introduce her to the rest of his family.

"That's my sister, Nora, my bother Alex, you've met my dad, my Aunt Lisa and my Uncle David, Then over at the table with Luc and Lily are my cousins Grace and Jacob." Troy explained motioning to each family member as he said their name. "And family, this is Gabriella"

Nora moved around the counter to talk to Gabriella, "Gabi – may I call you that?"

Gabriella nodded.

"I love your dress; it's so perfect for winter. Where did you get it?" she asked.

"Thank you. It's from Urban Outfitters, but I ordered it online." Gabriella explained.

"I love that store. I might have to order one for myself" Nora confessed.

"They had one in red that would match your shoes, which I have to say are so cute"

"Thank you, I haven't gotten to wear my pretty shoes for a while now because I'm a med student and in the hospitals heels aren't allowed and I have barely anytime to go out anymore."

"You're a med student. That's so exciting. How is it?" Gabriella asked clearly intrigued. Nora smiled,

"Come help me make the pumpkin pie and I'll tell you all about it. You'll never believe some of the crazy things I've seen happen in the ER and the OR."

Nora pulled Gabriella away from Troy and back to where she had been making pie pastry. Troy watched the two girls chat and laugh as they mixed the ingredients into a bowl.

He felt his brother come up behind him and pat him around the opposite shoulder,

"Looks like you just lost your girlfriend to Nora" Alex smirked.

--

A little while later after the pumpkin pie was finished Gabriella had migrated over to where Troy was working on peeling potatoes.

Gabriella peeled the potatoes with ease, it was like second nature to her. However Troy wasn't having so much luck. This knife kept slipping up and almost cutting him. Then he'd miss tons of spots of potato skin and have to go back to get it all off. Eventually he finished peeling his first potato. Proudly he set it in the large pot. As he peered in his mouth dropped when he saw 3 perfectly peeled potatoes already placed at the bottom.

"How'd you do that?" Troy asked in awe.

"Do what?" Gabriella asked looking up at Troy as she finished peeling her fourth potato.

"Peel them so fast"

"Oh, I'm not sure really. I just kind of go around in a circle and press down and it works" Gabriella shrugged her shoulders. She took a new potato and tried to show Troy how she peeled them, "I guess I just keep applying even pressure and turn the potato not the knife."

Troy took his own potato and taking Gabriella's new advice he concentrated hard and managed to peel quite a bit off the skin in one sweep.

"There you go" Gabriella smiled brightly.

Lisa shot Lucille an impressed look as she watched the two interact. Lucille glanced at the two and smiled as well,

"I must say I'm impressed. Troy's never been able to peel potatoes that well. Good job Gabriella" Lucille said. Just as the words left Lucille's mouth Troy's knife slipped up nicking the skin of his finger slightly.

"Ahh!" Troy exclaimed. "Mom! Look what you did!" he held up his index finger to show her the small amount of blood that was leaking out. Gabriella stifled her laugh due to Troy's dramatic outburst to such a tiny cut.

Sticking his finger in his mouth in hopes of stopping the blood flow, Troy pouted like a child at Gabriella.

Gabriella couldn't help the laugh that slipped out of her mouth, "Poor Troy" she giggled.

"This is not funny." Troy said, pulling his finger out of his mouth to show Gabriella the injury. "I could have _died_" he spoke dramatically. Gabriella rolled her eyes,

"Oh yes, you're going to bleed to death from a prick." Gabriella gasped sarcastically. "I bet it has stopped bleeding by now."

Troy examined his finger and frowned in defeat, sure enough the bleeding had stopped. Gabriella smirked before she turned back to peeling potatoes. Troy walked to the sink where he washed his finger quickly before he returned to help Gabriella finish. As the two continued to peel Lucille couldn't contain her curiosity any longer.

"So how long have you lived in Albuquerque?" she asked.

"Since August. We moved from Connecticut" Gabriella explained.

"Ahh an eastern girl, just like us, we're from New Jersey" Lisa said. "How do you like it here?"

"New Mexico has been very good to us. I'd say that we like it here very much" Gabriella explained.

"Now I have to ask. Do you play any sports?" Alex questioned.

Gabriella chuckled slightly at the thought of her being that coordinated,

"No. No I'm not coordinated enough. Lucas is the athlete in the family."

"Really? What sport do you play Lucas?" Jack asked turning to the kitchen table, where the kids were sitting.

"Basketball" Lucas stated proudly.

Jack grinned, "Excellent choice. What position?"

"Whichever needs to be played, but my favorite is shooting guard" Lucas grinned

Jack grinned even brighter, "And what's your points per game average?"

"I'm not really sure, but I like shooting 3-pointers."

Jack's eyes widened, "You do? How many do you make a game?"

"Jack! The boy is 10. Don't get ahead of yourself" Lucille reminded her husband.

"Fine, but keep your love of 3-pointers alive for high school and I'll keep a spot for you on the team" he winked. Lucas grinned.

"What about you Lily? You play sports?" Lucille asked.

Lily shook her head, "I'm in the same boat as Gabi. I like art though"

"Really? I'm an art teacher. What kind of art do you like?" Lisa asked.

"I mostly like drawing, but I do this thing afterschool now and I get to do painting and sculpting so that's opened a whole new world of artistic expression. But I'm starting to really really enjoy painting" Lily explained.

"Well you'll have to show me them sometime. I'd to see them" Lisa said kindly. Lily's face lit up with joy.

"And Gabriella, you still haven't told us what you like to do?" Lucille pointed out.

"Well, I'm just kind of me. I guess I'm more academically inclined." Gabriella said.

"Don't be modest Brie" Troy said softly to Gabriella. "She's more like a genius" Troy clarified "You know Taylor, Brie is in like all of the same classes as her. And she's the reason I'm not failing math"

"That's why your grade went up. Thank you Gabriella" Lucille smiled.

Gabriella blushed slightly, "It wasn't all me. I can't open Troy's brain and put the information in, he did the learning. I only explained it"

Troy rolled his eyes at Gabriella modesty, "Well you must be doing something, because before you the information didn't go into my brain. So I'd have to say it's you" Troy grinned triumphantly as he saw that Gabriella had nothing else to respond to.

"She sings too! You should have seen her while we were baking today!" Lucas exclaimed suddenly. Gabriella shot Lucas a look.

"Only a little bit and just for fun. Nothing serious" Gabriella clarified. Troy leaned over Gabriella's shoulder to whisper, "Can I assume you were dancing as well?"

"Maybe" Gabriella whispered. Troy laughed, kissing her discreetly on the cheek.

---

The group sat around the dining room table after eating a delicious and satisfying thanksgiving dinner. After about an hour of chatting they came to the consensus that it was time for desert.

Everyone got up to bring all the dishes in from the table. As Gabriella was walking out of the kitchen after putting a stack of plates on the counter, Troy grabbed her hand and pulled her into a kiss. At first Gabriella was surprised, but as Troy rubbed the small of her back gently she relaxed into the kiss, deepening it further. When Troy ran his tongue over Gabriella's lower lip she allowed him entrance. As the kiss's passion heightened further Gabriella realized they could be caught at any moment and pulled away from the kiss. Her hands fell on Troy's chest as she spoke.

"Troy!" she whispered, a hint of scolding in her voice "We can't do this _here._" Gabriella emphasized, referring to the large number of people that could walk in at any moment.

"Well, we just did" Troy grinned. Gabriella giggled and pecked Troy quickly on the lips again,

"You're crazy wildcat"

She grabbed Troy's hand and they slipped back into the dining room. They took their seats next to each other as Lucille began showing all the desserts.

"Let's see we have pumpkin pie, apple pie, ice cream, and mate…mate…" she struggled remembering the name of the cookies Gabriella had brought.

"Mantecados" Gabriella pronounced. "They are traditional Spanish cookies, usually eaten at Christmastime" Gabriella explained.

"But we brought them today because they're really really delicious!" Lily exclaimed.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm thinking about having a little bit of everything" Alex confessed, laughing.

After a few minutes everyone had at least two of the desserts on their plate. Nora bit into a mantecado and immediately wanted more – they were delicious.

"Oh wow. Gabi! These are amazing. I need the recipe" Nora exclaimed.

"That might be slightly difficult for me. I kind of just know how much of each ingredient to put in. But I guess I can try to figure it out" Gabriella explained.

"Where did you learn to make them?" Nora asked.

"My grandma and I used to make them every summer when I used to visit her in Spain. I guess after we stopped visiting I just retained the recipe." Gabriella explained softly.

A sadness came over Gabriella as she spoke about her grandmother. She'd been so close with her grandma. As a young girl she used to spend summers in Spain with her grandma and she always had a ball. She had been ten years old the last time she had seen or spoken to her grandmother. After her mother left them, her father refused to take them to see his wife's mother. The pain of which had dulled over the years but the cookies had brought it back to life. She had been able to picture her grandmother mixing the dough as she had been baking that morning.

Gabriella felt Troy's hand on her thigh and his eyes on hers asking if she was alright. Gabriella smiled at Troy and placed her hand over his, rubbing it gently, in attempt to convince him she was alright.

--

After the dessert had been eaten and cleared away the group retired into the Bolton's living room.

Laughter filled the air as family member's told somewhat embarrassing tales of each other. Troy, who had his arm wrapped around Gabriella, was glad to see that her face was glowing with joy. He pressed a quick kiss in her hair, which caused her to smile up at him.

Gabriella looked over at her brother and sister, who were sitting on the sofa opposite her. She watched as Lily let out a long tired yawn. Glancing around the room she tried to find a clock that would tell her the time. When her eyes fell upon a large grandfather clock she discovered it was almost 10:30 – which meant it was probably time to go home soon.

She waited for an appropriate time in the conversation before she said,

"Luc and Lily, you guys looked tired, maybe we should head home"

The twins nodded slowly. Gabriella shifted under Troy's arm so she could stand up.

"Is there anything I can do to help you clean up?" she asked. Lucille shook her head,

"No. I think we actually were able to fit a lot of the dishes in the dishwasher. Don't worry about it"

Gabriella nodded. "Well, thank you so much for having us. I really enjoyed myself. The dinner was delicious"

"Gabriella you are more than welcome. You three are welcome to come over for dinner anytime." Lucille said kindly. Gabriella smiled,

"It was so nice to meet all of you"

Nora got up to hug Gabriella, "Oh you'll have to come again. Or if you're ever in California give me a ring. And Troy, keep her around, I like her"

Troy grinned, placing his arm around Gabriella's waist, "I'll drive you home" he said softly.

"Oh! What about you cookies? Do you want to bring them home?" Lisa asked.

"No, you can keep them. You have a lot more mouths to feed than at we do" Gabriella assured her. Alex grinned widely,

"Thank you!" he exclaimed. Everyone laughed.

Gabriella nudged Lucas and Lily to remind them to thank Lucille and Jack.

"Thank you so much for having us, Mr. and Mrs. Bolton" they chimed politely.

"Well thank you very much for coming. Did you have fun?"

Lucas and Lily nodded enthusiastically.

"Next time I see you Lucas, we'll have to face off in basketball. It's a shame we didn't have time tonight" Jack said.

Lucas grinned, "You're on" he challenged.

"And Lily, I'll want to see your artwork sometime" Lisa reminded Lily. "You'll have to come by again before we leave"

Lily looked up at Gabriella, hopeful that it could be arranged. Gabriella smiled,

"We'll stop by sometime, if that's alright with you guys"

"Gabriella dear, remember what I said, our door is always open to you." Lucille reminded her before turning to Troy, "and don't you let her forget that Troy"

"I won't mom. Shall we?" He extended his arm towards the doorway.

"Bye everyone" Gabriella addressed the group one final time, giving a small wave before she turned and walked out of the room.

"I'll be back in a bit" Troy said before he followed Gabriella out of the room.

Once the Bolton family heard the front door open and close, telling them that Troy, Gabriella, Lucas and Lily had gone they immediately turned to each other to start gossiping.

"So…what do we think of Gabriella?" Lucille asked.

"I love her." Nora exclaimed quickly. "She is so sweet!"

"And she's so polite and intelligent" Lisa pointed out.

"Definitely, and Lucas and Lily were as well" Jack said.

"Lucas and Lily were so fun to play with!" Grace exclaimed.

"Oh my god and can I just say that she is so pretty. And not like the superficial, look at how much makeup I can wear pretty, like natural beauty" Nora said.

"Troy definitely picked a great girl" Alex concluded.

"What about you mom? What do you think?" Nora asked.

"I think that Gabriella is amazing. She's funny, sweet, intelligent and just a caring person. Besides that, I can tell Troy really likes her, so she definitely gets my stamp of approval"

**A/N: Wow! I did not expect that to be as long as it was. I hope it didn't get boring.**

**Just a little random fact, the potato peeling scene was inspired by me…guess who I was? Troy…seriously I suck at peeling potatoes–any other vegetable I can do, but I swear potatoes hate me. **

**I'm putting a picture of Gabriella's dress in my profile! Please review!**


	14. Sweet and Sour

**Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: I hope everyone had a very happy holiday and got everything they wished for! I know I did :D Enjoy…**

* * *

_Las Time…_

"_So…what do we think of Gabriella?" Lucille asked. _

"_I love her." Nora exclaimed quickly. "She is so sweet!"_

"_And she's so polite and intelligent" Lisa pointed out. _

"_Definitely, and Lucas and Lily were as well" Jack said. _

"_Lucas and Lily were so fun to play with!" Grace exclaimed. _

"_Oh my god and can I just say that she is so pretty. And not like the superficial, look at how much makeup I can wear pretty, like natural beauty" Nora said. _

"_Troy definitely picked a great girl" Alex concluded. _

"_What about you mom? What do you think?" Nora asked. _

"_I think that Gabriella is amazing. She's funny, sweet, intelligent and just a caring person. Besides that, I can tell Troy really likes her, so she definitely gets my stamp of approval" _

Chapter Fourteen – Sweet and Sour

Troy hummed quietly to himself as he made his way to the kitchen. He was greeted with a warm good morning from his mother when he entered. He pulled a bowl and cup from a cupboard and grabbed a spoon from one of the drawers. Taking his seat at the table he saw his sister sitting across from him, already eating. Grabbing the box of cereal from in front of him Troy asked,

"What are doing up so early?" His sister wasn't as late a sleeper as Troy was, but she still had the sleeping habits of a teenager.

"I'm leaving today. Remember?" Nora explained. Troy's mouth formed an o shape as he recalled his mother telling him that last night.

"Right. My brain isn't exactly in top shape at 7:15 in the morning. What time does your flight leave?" he asked as he poured the milk over his cereal.

"In 2 ½ hours" Nora said. Troy nodded, stirring his cereal to make sure all the flakes were covered in milk before he took a bite.

Just then Troy's father entered the kitchen,

"Good morning everyone" he greeted, taking his seat at the head of the table.

"Mornin' Dad" Troy responded before he took a gulp of his orange juice. Lucille came over with a bowl of oatmeal for her husband.

"Careful, it's hot" she warned as she placed it in front of him.

"Thanks" Jack said softly, placing a kiss on his wife's cheek.

Three of the Bolton's ate together, while Lucille waited for her own oatmeal to finish cooking in the microwave. Once the microwave beeped, signaling the food was done, Lucille grabbed the coffee pot and sat down at the table.

"You didn't forget about the game tonight? Did you?" Jack asked, slightly concerned as he poured some coffee for himself.

Troy shook his head, chewing his food faster so that he could answer his father. He soon swallowed and started to protest,

"Of course not. How could I possibly forget, it's against West High"

"You're not wearing your practice jersey." Jack pointed out, taking a gulp of his coffee.

"I know" Troy answered calmly. Jack raised his eyebrow and glanced at his wife to see if she knew anything about what was going on.

"Where is it? The team always wears it on game day" he reminded Troy.

"I gave it to Gabriella to wear" Troy answered matter-of-factly before he placed another spoonful of cereal in his mouth.

"You did?" his father almost sounded shocked.

Troy nodded, "Mmmhmm, it will look better on her than it does on me"

"Awww! That's so sweet!" Nora exclaimed.

"What's so sweet?" Alex asked as he entered the kitchen.

"Troy gave Gabriella his practice jersey to wear" Nora explained happily. Alex smirked,

"Awww...how cute" Alex mocked Nora's excitement.

"Oh shut up Alex. You did the same thing" Nora shot back. "And I bet Gabriella thought it was sweet as well"

Troy smiled as he recalled Gabriella's elated face when he'd asked her if she'd wear his jersey and the soft kiss she'd planted on his lips as her acceptance. He had been nervous about asking her – mostly fearing that she would think that the tradition was stupid. But Gabriella had held his jersey close to her chest as she had watched Troy walk down the apartment hall.

"Speaking of Gabriella how is she?" Lucille asked.

"She's good. A little tired from the week, but good." Troy answered.

"Is her father home yet?" Troy froze, why did his mother have to be so nosey?

"Not yet. But he should be home soon" Troy answered. "They really enjoyed their thanksgiving dinner though." He continued swiftly changing the subject.

"That's good." Lucille smiled.

"Did they like us?" Nora asked curiously. "I mean we all had our opinions about them. What did they think of us?"

"Well, Brie was very appreciative of thanksgiving. She and the twins also had a great time on Saturday. She said that Lucas won't stop talking about playing basketball with all the guys. And that Lily is already taking Aunt Lisa's tips." Troy explained. He turned to his brother and sister, "And she said you two are hilarious and really nice. Nora you had her the moment you said you were a med student."

Nora grinned proudly, "I'm glad she liked us. We really liked her too"

"Good to know. So when are you guys heading out?"

"Soon, if Mr. Late here would just finish his breakfast" Nora grumbled motioning to Alex.

"Hey! I could have been down here earlier if Miss Bathroom Hog didn't spend 45 minutes getting ready" Alex reminded his sister.

"Well next time get up earlier"

"Oh because that makes so much sense." Alex muttered sarcastically. "I get up early to spend my 15 minutes showering and then have to waste 45 minutes while you do whatever you do in the bathroom when I could have been sleeping"

"I don't know how we dealt with this bickering everyday" Lucille murmured as she watched her two eldest bicker.

"Whose idea was it again for them to drive to the airport together?" Troy asked.

"Theirs. They booked flights leaving at around the same time so they'd only have to get one rental car" Lucille explained.

"But they arrived on different days" Troy reminded his mother.

"Nora had to stay an extra day at school, so Alex just rented the car and picked her up from the airport" Jack clarified.

Troy nodded. As he finished the last of his orange juice he stood up,

"I'm gonna head out. You guys try not to kill each other on the road" he warned his brother and sister. Nora stood up to hug her brother tightly.

"Don't do anything stupid and if you need any girl advice I'm only a phone call away" Nora reminded him.

"Thanks Nora. Enjoy your medical stuff"

Alex gave Troy a brotherly hug, "Good luck tonight"

"Thanks, you too – you're the one that has to spend 45 minutes listening to Nora rambling" Troy smirked. Alex laughed.

"Excuse me?" Nora demanded.

"Nothing. I gotta go" Troy said quickly. "Bye mom, dad"

Grabbing his backpack and keys Troy made his way outside and hoped in his car to drive to school.

--

Gabriella was thankful when the bell rang in her Chemistry class. Her teacher, Mr. Whitman had gone on far too long about ionic and covalent bonding. After she and Taylor finished packing up they made their way to the door, where Mr. Whitman handed them a sheet that was to be memorized. Taylor groaned,

"Can you believe we have to memorize all these polyatomic ions?"

"I know. I'm never going to be able to remember all these. How long do we have to get them memorized?"

"All he said was soon. What's that supposed to mean?"

Gabriella snorted slightly, "Knowing Whitman, it means by next class"

"Great" Taylor muttered sarcastically, sliding the paper into her bag. Gabriella glanced down at her own sheet, sighing again before she too slipped the paper into her bag.

"So how are things going with Troy?" Taylor asked Gabriella curiously. "I noticed he gave you his jersey to wear."

Gabriella smiled glancing down at the red jersey she wore with a white wildcat on the front and 'BOLTON' written in white, bold letters across the back along with his number. Because of her petite frame, the jersey was quite large on her. It reached down to just below her butt. She wore a simple white tank-top underneath to keep from exposing too much as well as jeans. She hated the thought of having to return the jersey to him later on. She loved wearing it, she loved being marked as his and she loved inhaling his scent every time she took a breath.

"Perfect" Gabriella admitted. The truth was that she'd never been happier. Troy made her feel as though she was the most important person to him. Like nothing else mattered in the moments she was with him. Usually when they were together the rest of the world just seemed to disappear. "I was so happy when he asked me to wear his jersey"

Taylor smiled, "I remember the first time Chad asked me to wear his. It wasn't done romantically – it's Chad after all – but it was sweet in his own way"

"Troy was so nervous" Gabriella chuckled softly recalling the sweet memory. "It's not like I was going to say no"

"Well he looked happy this morning when he saw you wearing it" Taylor pointed out. Gabriella smiled brightly.

"I'm glad"

The two girls chatted happily until they arrived in front of their usual lunch table. Gabriella immediately made her way around the table so she was sitting next to Troy. She placed a soft kiss on his lips as a greeting.

"Hi" she whispered.

"How has your day been so far?" he asked. Gabriella sighed,

"Suckish. The work is beginning to pile up again. I realized that I need to start reading my book for English, I have a lot of math to do over the weekend and my chem teacher just gave a list of polyatomic ions to memorize. God knows what excitement my French teacher will assign; I've heard rumors that we're going to start reading a novel – that's all in French!" Gabriella threw her arms up in defeat.

"Anything I can help with?" Troy asked hopefully.

"Unless you can create a robot to do all this for me all you have to do let me relax this period."

"The robot might be a stretch, but I can definitely handle the other task."

Troy let Gabriella lean against his chest as he traced ovals up and down her upper arms.

"Have I told you how good you look in my jersey?" he whispered.

Gabriella smiled, "You've said it several times"

She could feel Troy's grin grow, "Well I'm saying it again. You look gorgeous in it. You're going to have to wear it every time we have a game"

"I _have_ to, do I?"

Troy nodded, "Mmmhmmm"

"Are you nervous for tonight?" she asked.

"I don't get nervous" Troy stated. Gabriella raised her eyebrow,

"You don't get nervous for a game against your rival team, but you get nervous about asking me to wear your jersey"

"There will always be another basketball game. If I screw up one game, it's not the end of the world. But there is only one you. I screw up with you and it is most definitely the end of the world"

"Well I'll have you know that you'll have to do something pretty stupid to make me go away forever. I plan on staying with you for a long time" Gabriella whispered.

"Good. I plan on being with you for a long time as well"

--

"And that's the game folks. East High 58, West High 48. That puts East High at the top of its group, with West High in second place. Remember, the top two teams in each region qualify for state playoffs." The announcer spoke enthusiastically.

Gabriella stood on her feet cheering along with her siblings, Taylor, Sharpay and Kelsi. She grinned brightly as Troy's eyes locked on hers. He winked just before he ran into the locker room with the rest of his team.

As the crowd began to shrink and the excitement lowered, Gabriella let out a content sigh. Lily tapped Gabriella on the shoulder,

"Can I go to the bathroom now?" she asked.

"Yeah." Gabriella nodded. "Come on, I'll show you where it is. Luc do you need to go?"

Lucas shook his head.

"Ok, we'll be back in a bit then" Gabriella said. She stood up and motioned for her younger sister to follow her.

The bathroom nearest to the gym could only hold one person at a time. So Gabriella waited near the door while Lily did her business. She hummed quietly to herself as she idly watched the cars in the parking lot.

Lily used the bathroom quickly and before long the two were back on their way to the gym.

"So did you enjoy the game tonight?" Gabriella asked her sister. Lily nodded enthusiastically,

"Yes! I like that it's so fast paced, it keeps me interested."

"Me too" Gabriella agreed. Lily scoffed quietly.

"What?" Gabriella demanded.

"I think that you only like it because your boyfriend happens to be playing in it" Lily said giggling. Gabriella's mouth dropped open in mock anger.

"You have to admit it's true. You wouldn't have even considering coming to a game if Troy wasn't on the team" Lily reminded her. Gabriella rolled her eyes, knowing that Lily was absolutely right.

"Fine, fine. He is the reason I started coming, but I do actually enjoy the game now." Gabriella admitted.

"Whatever you say Gabi" Lily almost laughed as she skipped through the doors of the gym. Gabriella couldn't help but laugh at Lily's playfulness and failed to notice the dark haired boy that Lily crashed into. The impact caused Lily to fall to the ground and Gabriella quickly rushed over to help her up.

"I'm terribly sorry. Are you alright?" the teenager asked.

"I'm fine. Sorry for crashing into you" Lily apologized.

"It's alright. No harm done right?" the boy laughed lightly. "Although, I must say you're a bit late" he added.

"Late for what?" Gabriella asked.

"Late for the game. It finished about 15 minutes ago." He explained.

"Oh don't worry, we know" Gabriella said before she started to walk towards the bleachers.

"Then what are you doing here?" he asked causing Gabriella to turn around.

"Meeting up with some friends" she said shortly.

"Why'd you leave then?" he pressed. Gabriella was becoming slightly annoyed, what was with all the questions?

"Um…My sister had to go to the bathroom." Gabriella said quickly.

"Ahh I see. Didn't want to miss any of the game"

"Yeah" Gabriella nodded.

"So you enjoyed the game?" he asked calmly.

"Yeah" Again Gabriella nodded. She was beginning to wonder why this boy was talking with her so much.

"Care to elaborate"

"I was glad that East High won" Gabriella added. "But we should get going. Our friends are waiting for us" Once again Gabriella turned to leave the awkward conversation, but this time the boy stopped her by grabbing her hand.

"Wait, you didn't ask me what I thought of the game"

Gabriella tensed under his strong grip. She didn't like this, this feeling he was evoking in her.

"What did you think of the game?" she asked slowly. His lips curved into a sly smile as Gabriella asked him the question.

"Eh, it's was ok. The ref was a bit unfair though"

Gabriella sensed some distaste in his tone, but she didn't want this conversation to go on any longer, so she wasn't about to ask him why. She tried to get him to release her hand from his grip, but he only held on tighter. He glanced over Gabriella's shoulder and another sly smile seemed to creep onto his face. A fear washed over her as she began to feel a chill vibrate down her spine – and definitely not the good kind.

"Can you please let go of my hand?" Her voice trembled.

"I suggest you do as she asks Scott" Troy's stern voice came from behind her. Gabriella couldn't help breathe a sigh of relief knowing Troy was behind her.

"But of course" James Scott answered calmly releasing Gabriella's hand. Gabriella let herself almost stumble backwards to where she felt safe – just behind Troy.

"And I trust you were just about to leave" Troy continued, his tone staying completely even and never breaking contact with the West High's captain's eyes.

"Of course I was. I just bumped into your girlfriend and her sister" James replied, his tone sickeningly sweet. "And what can I say, we just got talking" he added, the same sly smile creeping back onto his face.

"Well I suggest that you stay away from her from now on" Troy's tone hardened.

"As you wish" James said turning to leave, but just as he was about to walk away his head turned back, "It was nice talking to you, Gabriella Montez"

The last two words shook Gabriella the most. She hadn't said her name to him, neither had Troy. How had he known her name?

Troy clenched his teeth as he watched James walk so nonchalantly out of the gym. He waited until James was out of sight until he turned back to Gabriella. His hardened expression immediately softened as he saw Gabriella's fearful face.

"I…I didn't know it was him, James Scott. He just stopped me and started talking and I tried to get away but his hand and and…" Gabriella babbled nervously, fear obvious in her voice.

Troy placed his hands gently on Gabriella's upper arm, "It's ok. All that matters is that you're alright." Troy's voice was gently and kind.

Gabriella nodded, "How did he know my name?" Gabriella's voice trembled slightly. Troy knew that James had gotten some of his team mates to find out who Gabriella was. He must have seen her at the first game she attended. Troy recalled he had in fact seen James and some of his team mates at the game. But he knew telling her would worry her.

"The news that either of the basketball captains has a girlfriend travels fast in this town." Troy explained. He wouldn't call what he had just said lying; it was true that the news that Gabriella was his girlfriend traveled fast – but only in East High. Albuquerque was quite large - it was more like a small city than a town and West High was on the other side of the city, so the two schools stayed pretty distant. "Don't worry about it. OK?" Troy added. He did make a note to keep an extra eye out for any West High players from now on though. He refused to let anything happen to Gabriella.

Troy's words seemed to calm Gabriella down. Troy slung his arm casually around her shoulders,

"So what did you think of the game?" he grinned.

"Well, there was this one player I couldn't keep my eyes off of" she smiled.

"Really? Should I worry about this?" Troy asked raising his eyebrow.

"It depends if you like being stared at" she answered.

"Only if certain pair of brown eyes are doing the starring" Troy responded.

"I think that can be arranged" Gabriella smiled up at him. Troy dropped a sweet kiss on Gabriella's lips before pulled her even closer.

--

James Scott scowled as he walked to the exit of the East High gym. His encounter with Gabriella hadn't gone quiet as he had hoped. Although he knew he had shaken Gabriella, he hadn't gotten Troy as angry as he had hoped. He was happy though that Troy seemed protective over Gabriella, that meant that all he had to do was toy with Gabriella enough to make Troy do something that would get him suspended.

He pulled out his phone and quickly called his best friend's number. James waited impatiently for Max to pick up. Finally he picked up,

"_How'd it go?"_

"Ok. I need more though. Her name isn't enough. I want you to find out everything there is to know about Gabriella Montez"

* * *

**A/N: And that's where I'll end it. So…how'd I do? Let me know. Thanks for reading!!**


	15. Those Three Words

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Can you believe it's 2009? I know I can't. Enjoy…**

_Last Time:_

_James Scott scowled as he walked to the exit of the East High gym. His encounter with Gabriella hadn't gone quiet as he had hoped. Although he knew he had shaken Gabriella, he hadn't gotten Troy as angry as he had hoped. He was happy though that Troy seemed protective over Gabriella, that meant that all he had to do was toy with Gabriella enough to make Troy do something that would get him suspended. _

_He pulled out his phone and quickly called his best friend's number. James waited impatiently for Max to pick up. Finally he picked up, _

"_How'd it go?"_

"_Ok. I need more though. Her name isn't enough. I want you to find out everything there is to know about Gabriella Montez"_

Chapter Fifteen – Those Three Words

Have you ever read a book in which two people fall in love? Gabriella sure had. She read more books than the average teenager and most of them had some element of romance in them. She'd been able to live vicariously through the women in the books, slipping into their reality and feeling as though she was in love. Then she'd be yanked out of her fantasy and into her harsh reality.

However, she never quite believed it was possible for two people to be so closely connected so quickly - the most famous example being Romeo and Juliet. Despite loving the tale, she could never understand how two people would be willing to give up their lives rather than live without each other after only knowing the other person for three days.

That was until now.

Maybe she hadn't fallen in love with Troy in three days, but she had still only known him for about 2 months. The feelings she felt for him were stronger than she had bargained for. She hated the thought of going to work now, but only because she knew she wouldn't be in communication with Troy. She hated the idea of being separated from him. She could listen to his voice all day and never get tired of it. She cherished the feeling of his gentle touch after he had moved away from her. She could gaze into his eyes until the end of time. Troy was perfect.

And in Gabriella's opinion she was far from perfect. Troy couldn't possibly feel the same way she did. He couldn't possibly accept all her flaws.

Yes, she was terrified. She had fallen hard for him. She had fallen in so deeply that she wasn't sure she was going to be able to climb out without hurting herself.

--

_Gabriella walked with Troy down a long path in the forest. The cool breeze of the evening hit the pair and Gabriella clung tighter to Troy's arm. Looking down at her, he smiled and whispered, _

"_You cold?" _

"_A little" she admitted. Troy pulled away a little bit so he could take off his jacket. _

"_Oh no, no, won't you be cold?" Gabriella protested as she watched him remove his jacket and hold it out to her. _

"_I was actually feeling a little warm." Troy smirked, still holding it out for Gabriella's hand to take. "But seriously Brie. Please take it, you're shivering"_

_Gabriella smiled gratefully and carefully put Troy's jacket around her shoulders. She leaned closer to his body again, loving the feeling of his body against hers. _

"_I love you" she whispered. _

"_What?" Troy asked, unfortunately not because he couldn't hear her, but because he was truly surprised. _

"_I love you" she repeated, this time a little louder – in case, by some miracle, the reason for him questioning her had truly been that he hadn't been able to hear her. _

"_No" Troy spoke, his voice stern. "You don't. You can't"_

_Gabriella looked at him disbelievingly, she could feel her heart ready to break and tears threatening to fall. _

"_I don't love you" Troy said finally, his eyes turning a dark gray color. "I hate you" His voice was even and clear. Those three words shattered her heart into a million pieces. _

_She stood horrified in the forest, looking up at Troy with tear-filled eyes._

"_But…I thought…I don't understand. Why?" her voice was fragile, trembling with each breath she took as confusion filled her eyes. _

"_Because, no one could ever love you" Troy's voice became hard and cruel. Gabriella did not recognize the tone of his voice. Troy's usual soft, gentle voice had been replaced with the voice that belonged to a monster. _

_The voice of her father._

"_I told you. Everyone you meet will hate you" her father's voice spoke clearly from Troy's lips. _

_She watched in horror as Troy's hair grew shorter and darker, his eyes turned from gray to dark brown and Troy's usual playful grin turned into the cruel, drunken smile belonging solely to her father. _

_Gabriella screamed as she saw that Troy's body had been replaced with her father's. _

"_Gabi" she heard her brother say. Gabriella whipped her head around quickly trying to see her brother, but he was nowhere to be seen._

"_Gabi" this time it was her sister's voice that spoke her name. Again, Gabriella looked around her, but as before she couldn't see Lily anywhere. _

_Her father began to laugh wickedly._

"_Come here" he called. _

"_No!" she screamed. She didn't want them to come anywhere near their father. She was terrified he would take them away from her. _

_Gabriella was becoming increasingly more frightened as Lucas and Lily's voices became louder – they were still nowhere to be found. Gabriella twisted in her position, her feet seemed to be glued to the ground, trying to find the source of the voices. _

"_Gabriella!"_

"Gabriella! Gabriella wake up!" Lily shook Gabriella as hard as she could. Gabriella's eyes finally shot open, her breathing heavy and erratic.

"We're going to be late!" Lucas cried. Gabriella sat up immediately, still breathing heavily.

"What time is it?"

"7:55!" Lily exclaimed. That left 5 minutes until both their schools started, there was no way they would make it on time.

"What? No! How?" Gabriella was confused, she'd remembered setting her alarm. Why hadn't it gone off?

"I don't know. I guess we all over slept" Lucas shrugged.

"The only reason we woke up was because I heard you screaming and woke Lucas. Is everything ok?" Lily asked, clearly concerned about her big sister.

Gabriella stood slightly dazed for a second. It had been a dream, only a dream –well more like a nightmare. She didn't want to dwell the terrifying dream just now. Right now she needed to focus on getting Lily, Lucas and herself ready for school.

"I'm fine. Just a bad dream." She assured them. "You guys go get dressed. I'll meet you at the front door in five minutes. Get ready for a morning run"

--

Troy sat in Mrs. Darbus's class, staring at the clock. 8:18. Where on earth was Gabriella? It wasn't like her to be late. She wasn't sick was she? No. He had spoken to her last night and she had sounded as healthy and happy as ever. So where was she?

He was also being slightly selfish. He hadn't seen her since last night and he wanted, no he _needed_ to see her again. As corny as it sounded, he missed her. Truthfully he missed her whenever she was away from him, even if it was only for a few minutes. Gabriella brightened his mood the moment she stepped into the room. He could be having the crappiest day, but Gabriella's smile or laugh always made it better. He could hold her in his arms forever, simply studying her angelic face.

Whenever Gabriella was around Troy felt butterflies in the core of his stomach that he had never experienced before. The girlfriends in his distant past had never made him feel the way Gabriella did. At first he thought the feeling might fade, that he'd grow immune to her beauty, her personality, to just her, but he hadn't. He was positive now that he wouldn't grow immune to her and it was a good thing because he loved the way he felt. He loved loving Gabriella. That's right, he loved Gabriella Montez.

Now all he had to do was tell her.

Just then the door flew open, "Ms. Darbus! I'm so so sorry! I overslept and I ran and I'm sorry!" A clearly exhausted Gabriella panted as she stumbled through the doorway. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail and she wore a simple t-shirt with a jacket and jeans. Troy couldn't help but smile. Despite her disheveled look, she still looked beautiful in his eyes and he was just glad to see her.

"No worries Ms. Montez, I'll just see you in detention today during free period. Take your seat please" Ms. Darbus responded.

Gabriella nodded and walked to her seat next to Troy's. He smiled sympathetically and reached over inconspicuously to rub his thumb over the back of her hand as a simple greeting.

Gabriella smiled back as she covered his hand in hers, quickly squeezing as her own greeting before Ms. Darbus turned around and saw the interaction take place.

--

"So why were you late this morning?" Troy asked curiously as the pair walked home from the diner that evening. Troy walking (or sometimes driving if it was raining or too cold) Gabriella home had become a habit. Troy hated the idea of Gabriella walking home alone and in the dark.

Gabriella sighed, "My alarm didn't go off for some reason. I think I might have hit it by accident while I was half asleep. Do you know what I mean?"

Troy chuckled, "I know exactly what you mean. I do that like twice a week"

"It was a good thing though that Lily heard me. Otherwise it would have been 9 or 10 before I showed up" Gabriella laughed lightly.

"What do you mean she heard you?" Troy asked confusion written across his face.

"I had a nightmare" Gabriella said quietly, "about my dad. Apparently I screamed" So she hadn't told him the first part of the dream, but it wasn't lying, she just left some parts out.

Troy pulled her close; wrapping his comforting arms around her he kissed her hair.

"You ok?" he asked softly.

Gabriella nodded, "It was only a dream" she murmured more trying to convince herself than Troy.

She'd been dwelling on the dream most of the day. Her heart told her that she loved Troy and she needed to tell him. But in her head she wouldn't allow herself to tell him. She was trying to convince herself that it didn't matter what she felt, he would never love her the way that she loved him. Just as her father had said, Troy was going to hate her eventually. Then he would leave her. She was sure of it. So for now all she could do was hold in her feelings and hold on to him for as long as she could.

A shiver ran down her spine as she thought about it that didn't go unnoticed by Troy. He began to pull his jacket off,

"You cold?"

"I'm fine" she answered. Truthfully she was actually a little bit cold now that he mentioned it. Troy didn't believe Gabriella's answer, so he held out his jacket for her to take.

Gabriella shook her head, "No, no you keep it. Aren't you cold?"

Troy smirked, "I was actually feeling a little warm" Gabriella froze, that was he'd said in the dream. It was just a coincidence though…right? Her dream hadn't been a warning had it?

"Brie, please just take it." Troy insisted. Ha, Troy hadn't said that in the dream. She just knew Troy well enough to know he'd say something like that. That was it.

Gabriella smiled gratefully as she took the jacket from him and wrapped it around her shoulders. As soon as she did she was happy with her decision. It was not only warm in the sense that it provided heat, but it also comforted her, relaxed her. On top of that it smelled like him – which was always a plus.

Troy pulled her close to him again. His arm wrapped securely around her waist as they strolled along with only the streetlight and the moon as their light source.

"Do you have nightmares often?" Troy wondered aloud.

"I usually just have flashbacks every so often. I can handle those, but this was different." Gabriella admitted softly. "In this dream, I was walking with you and then you..." she trailed off.

"I what?" Troy encouraged her to go on.

"You told me you…you hated me and then you turned into my dad and he reminded me that everyone would hate me" Gabriella whispered tears filling her eyes.

Troy stopped so he could engulf Gabriella in a proper hug. Troy couldn't stand the pain Gabriella was in. He hoped that her father understood just how much pain he was putting Gabriella through and he hoped that her father suffered from it one day.

"It's ok if you do. I would understand. I know I'm not as pretty as all the other girls at East High. My dad was probably right, I mean look at me. If I were you I -" Gabriella mumbled.

Troy hated that Gabriella believed her father. Troy hated that she doubted him, that she doubted herself. He loved her more than anything. He was sure of it and he needed to tell her, right now.

"I love you" he murmured, interrupting her ramble. Gabriella froze, staring up at him with terrified eyes,

"What?" she whispered breathlessly.

"I love you. Your father was wrong, he will always be wrong, because I love you more than I ever thought possible" Troy said, speaking more clearly this time, looking directly into Gabriella's eyes.

Gabriella took a deep breath in. She wasn't sure whether she could believe him. Her heart wanted to believe him, _needed _to believe him, but her head kept telling her that he didn't love her, he couldn't. But Troy's eyes looked so sincere that she knew he wasn't lying. His eyes could always tell Gabriella what he was feelings or if he was lying. They had a truth to them that couldn't be denied. He really did love her.

She was ecstatic that he loved her, on top of the moon, because she felt the same way. She just didn't know if she could say it, utter the simple four letter word. Not just any four letter word though, with those four letters a person gave his or her heart to another person, praying that that person wouldn't shatter it. Those four letters could make a person feel as if they were floating on cloud nine surrounded by all the happiness he or she could ever hope for. However, those same four letters could also cause someone more despair than any one person deserved.

The two people in the world that were supposed to love you more than anyone else had betrayed Gabriella's love and had broken her heart more than once. They'd taken away her beloved grandmother and caused her pain by being the cause of her siblings' pain. She had been forced to entrust them with her life. They were supposed to be there for her, protect her from all things evil, but they had become the evil in her life. Those two people were her parents.

As of a result of her parents disaffection Gabriella was terrified of entrusting some else with her happiness and heart. That didn't mean that she didn't love Lucas and Lily, because she loved them so much. However she protected them, so she didn't have to worry about them leaving her or betraying her.

But now she stood in front of Troy, ready to give him her heart just like he'd given his to her and she was petrified.

"Brie?" Troy whispered, "Brie, what's wrong?"

Just as Gabriella saw truth in Troy's eyes, Troy saw fear in Gabriella's. He was thankful that he saw a love in her eyes that matched his own feelings for her, but he was alarmed at the fear her eyes portrayed.

His minded raced as he tried to come up with a probable cause of the fear until it hit him like a ton of bricks. It was no longer a question of probable cause, because Troy was now positive of the cause.

Her parents.

They'd left her – well not her father in the physical sense, but emotionally he was no longer her father. Everything clicked into place immediately. Gabriella was afraid that if she told Troy she loved him, he would hurt her. Troy was not about to let himself hurt Gabriella. He loved her too much to watch her suffer. He couldn't drive her away – he needed her too much.

All he had to do was convince her he wouldn't hurt her.

"Brie, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to turn into your father or your mother. I won't let myself do what they did to you. I refuse to let it happen. You're safe here. I won't let anyone hurt you." Troy said sincerely. He glanced down at his hand and remembered the class ring that he wore on his right hand. He pulled it off carefully and even though Gabriella looked at him with confused eyes he placed it in her hand.

"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, but please wear this as a reminder that I promise I won't hurt you, that I'll always be there for you and that I love you" Troy said softly.

Gabriella fingered the warm metal ring carefully and she looked up at Troy with glossy eyes. The ring meant the world to her and even though she knew it would be too large for her small fingers she held onto it tightly, promising to wear it around her neck. It was all that she needed to be reminded of the other three words she had already said to him. _I trust you_. She trusted Troy and she loved him too.

Love and trust: the two hardest words for Gabriella to say, but also the two most important to Gabriella. She'd already told Troy she trusted him and now she was ready to tell him the other the three words.

"I love you" Gabriella whispered, before she sealed her proclamation with gentle kiss. She couldn't help but smile into the kiss. Those three words felt incredible to say. She felt her heart flutter as Troy pulled her closer to him, showing her just how much the words meant to him as well.

**A/N: I just finished typing the chapter and I literally pulled my hands up from the keyboard and made a heart :) I know…I'm kinda weird. **

**I hope you enjoyed it!! Please review with your thoughts!**


	16. Terrified

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry this is über late, midterms start on Thursday and I'm kinda sorta freaking out a lot. Enjoy…**

* * *

_Last Time…_

_Love and trust: the two hardest words for Gabriella to say, but also the two most important to Gabriella. She'd already told Troy she trusted him and now she was ready to tell him the other the three words. _

"_I love you" Gabriella whispered, before she sealed her proclamation with gentle kiss. She couldn't help but smile into the kiss. Those three words felt incredible to say. She felt her heart flutter as Troy pulled her closer to him, showing her just how much the words meant to him as well. _

Chapter Sixteen – Terrified

Was Gabriella Montez terrified?

Yes.

She had just given her whole heart to Troy Bolton. Even though she knew he would guard it with his life and love it with his whole heart she had this constant feeling of falling, like she was falling down a never ending hole. A love like this was something she'd never experienced, she'd never known, so she had no idea what was coming. What if she screwed things up because she didn't do things right? Gabriella wasn't sure how she was supposed to act or what she was supposed to do or how she was supposed to feel and that scared her.

People were beginning to stare as she walked down the main hallway. Why were they staring? Her hand flew up to her face; did she have something on her face? No. She looked at her feet; was she trailing something embarrassing? No. She looked down at her shirt; was her shirt on backwards? No. She looked around at the other people walking beside her; had she forgotten it was some sort of spirit day? No.

People were beginning to whisper. What on earth were they whispering about? Not her – she hoped, but unfortunately that was not the case. It was obvious they were whispering and staring at her, but why?

Oh god, they didn't figure out her secret did they? Gabriella's thoughts raced. No, no she refused to let herself believe that, but she couldn't help herself. Visions of the police showing up at her door flashed through her mind. Her hand flew up to her chest and landed on the metal ring looped through a simple silver chain.

Then it hit her, they had seen the ring. Relief washed over her and she smiled slightly. However the smile quickly disappeared, did they disapprove? She tried to scan the hall to get some sort of reading. It was mixed; some girls seemed to be happily giggling to their friends while others were giving her the evil eye. It didn't really make sense though; they all knew she was dating Troy. Why the sudden fascination with the pair? It must have something to do with Troy's class ring. Did it mean something to her classmates that it didn't to her? She'd have to ask someone.

Even though she knew (or at least she thought she did) the reason behind the staring and the whispering she couldn't help but feel self-conscious.

When Gabriella rounded the corner she could already see Kelsi, Sharpay and Taylor chatting by her locker. She made her way to her locker and greeted her friends with a good morning.

"Good morning to you too" Kelsi greeted warmly.

"How are you guys this morning?" Gabriella asked.

"Urg, stressed. I have an English presentation today and a history test. Then I need to get the holiday toy drive up and running" Taylor exasperated.

"Tay, history is a breeze for you and presentations, I think you have that down" Gabriella reminded her. Taylor sighed,

"I hope"

"Well if you think you're under stress, I have to start planning my Christmas party" Sharpay explained.

"Shar how hard is it to plan a party for 10 people?" Kelsi questioned.

"You'd be surprised. There's theme, decorations – OH MY GOD!" Sharpay squealed, "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!"

"What's the big disaster this time? Did you forget your lip-gloss?" Taylor said sarcastically.

"No. But just so you know that would be considered a disaster, but that's never going to happen because I have extras in my locker." Sharpay said seriously. The three other girls rolled their eyes.

"So what's with the 'oh my gods'" Kelsi asked.

"Look!" she pointed to Gabriella's neck.

A grinned spread across Kelsi face while Taylor fired a series questions at Gabriella,

"When did you get that? How did he give it to you? Where were you? How did you react? How did he react? Tell us _everything_"

Gabriella smiled sheepishly as she fiddled with the ring. She told them the story from last night, omitting some of the details about her dream and when she finished she waited for her friends' reactions.

"Awwww" came simultaneously from the three girls' mouths.

"That's so sweet" Kelsi sighed.

"It is." Taylor agreed.

"I'm glad Troy finally found a girl to give his ring to" Sharpay said.

"I know! He was the only one on the team who had yet to give his out" Taylor reminded them.

Gabriella fingered the ring that hung from her neck intrigued with the news she was hearing.

"I think he was just waiting for the right girl. I bet he didn't want to give to a girl he didn't really care about like some of the guys on the team" Kelsi pointed out.

What Kelsi said made her happy, she hoped it meant Troy really cared about her. If so, then the ring was important. If Troy had never given it out before that made Gabriella feel really special and she gained a new appreciation for the ring.

Suddenly she felt a pair of warm, strong arms wrap around her from behind. She could feel hot breath in her ear and on her neck as Troy whispered good morning. He kissed her hair and Gabriella couldn't help but relax into his embrace because with Troy's strong arms wrapped around her she felt happier than ever.

--

"Is Gabriella Montez doing her math homework in Chemistry" Taylor gasped sarcastically as she walked up to the lab station she shared with Gabriella.

Gabriella looked up from the paper she was scribbling numbers down on and laughed slightly,

"No, I'm um…doing other stuff" Gabriella mumbled.

Taylor looked over Gabriella's shoulder,

"What _are _you doing?" she asked curiously. "It looks like AP financing work, but you don't take that class."

Gabriella sighed, "No, but it might as well be. I'm trying to figure out how much money I can budget for Christmas"

It took Taylor a few moments to process what Gabriella meant. She watched in slight horror as Gabriella divided numbers by ten. Ten: the gang plus the twins.

"Woah, Gabi, you do not have to get us all stuff" Taylor tried to reason with her.

"No don't be silly. I just have to take a few extra shifts. It'll be fine" Gabriella protested.

"Gabi-" Taylor began but she was cut off by Mr. Whitman beginning the class.

Gabriella folded her calculations and put them in her bag. She sighed quietly; she was going to have to take more than just a few extra shifts. But it didn't matter she was determined not to let her lifestyle affect Christmas, especially for the twins. Lucas and Lily deserved a great Christmas.

--

"Can you just put this box of books away before you leave?" Marsha, Gabriella's boss, asked her, holding out a box of children's books.

"Of course" Gabriella smiled taking the box from her boss. She walked to the children section and began to put the new copies of Nancy Drew on the shelves. She couldn't help but smile slightly at the slight of the familiar yellow binding. Gabriella had gone though a stage where she read nothing but the mystery novels.

She couldn't help but smile as picked up her favorite book in the series. She opened the new book and started rereading a random section. Gabriella was quickly consumed by the words and didn't notice the teenage boy walking towards her so she jumped slightly when he tapped her on the shoulder. She quickly shut the book at looked up at the tall boy, slightly embarrassed.

"Can I help you?" Gabriella asked politely.

"You can actually." The teenager smiled, "I'm looking for a book for my brother. He's 11 and he said he wanted a book for her birthday" he explained.

"Um…well, The Hardy Boys are always good, but if he's not into mysteries you could try pretty much anything by Andrew Clements or Roald Dahl." Gabriella explained.

"Roald Dahl…hmmm that sounds familiar. I'll take that book" the boy decided. Gabriella tried to stop her eyebrow from rising. Did he just refer to Roald Dahl as a book?

"Um which book? Roald Dahl is the author"

"Oh, I knew that, I just figured you had one picked out" he stuttered "Um, which one do you think an 11 year old boy would like the best?"

Gabriella thought for second, "Well I would go with the BFG. I know I loved it and my brother loves it as well" She held out the classic novel.

"Thanks" he muttered. "So you have a brother?"

The boy seemed more interested in that than the book. Gabriella nodded, cautiously.

"What's his name?" he asked.

"Lucas" Gabriella replied reluctantly, she wasn't sure how to make him go away.

"And is he 10 like my brother?" the teenager asked. Gabriella furrowed her eyebrows, hadn't he said his brother was 11?

She nodded slowly, "Yeah. Can I ring you up at the cash register?" she asked. She'd come back to the book shelving once this guy was gone.

The boy looked confused for a second and then seemed to remember the book in his hand,

"Yeah that'd be great" he said. Gabriella led him to the cash register.

"So, tell me about your brother." He probed. Gabriella raised her eyebrows as she turned around to go around to the back of the counter. What was going on? Were people usually this nosey?

"Um…he likes basketball" Gabriella offered. She figured it was a pretty general statement, maybe he wouldn't dig any further.

"Really? Does he get that from your dad?"

"Um…" Gabriella pondered for a while, while she punched codes in on the cash register. She was mostly trying to stall so she wouldn't have to answer the question.

"I'll take that as a no. That's ok, is he one of those geeky types who sits at home at the computer all day?" The boy continued, "Your dad I mean" he clarified.

Gabriella shook her head, "No, he's...in the office most of the day. That'll be $9.43 please"

The boy seemed slightly disgruntled as he handed over ten dollars. Gabriella quickly handed him his change and the bag with a book in it.

"Have a nice evening" she smiled politely.

"Thanks, do you work here often?" he asked.

"Um twice a week"

"Ok, I'll have to remember to come here on Wednesdays and…" he seemed to motion for Gabriella to continue.

"Sundays" Gabriella answered reluctantly; she got an uncomfortable vibe from this guy. His questioning made her uncomfortable, but she wasn't sure if it was just because she was the type of person who kept her personal life private or if he really was probing too much.

"Well thanks for all the help" he said before turning to exit the store. Gabriella watched as the tall teenager left the store and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She made her way back to the children's section and finished shelving books.

Meanwhile, as Troy pulled into the parking lot at Borders he noticed a teenager walk out of the store, flip his cell phone open and start talking angrily into it. Troy watched as the teenager pulled a book out of its bag, glanced at it and then simply threw both the book and plastic bag into a nearby garbage can.

Troy frowned, why would anyone buy a book and then throw it out seconds after leaving the store? As the teenager crossed the parking lot directly in front of him he recognized the face. He couldn't quite remember the name of that particular player, but he was certain it was one of them - a West High Knight.

As Troy backed his car into a parking spot thoughts – mostly angry – raced through his mind. Why this book store? There were plenty on the west side of Albuquerque. Why would he travel all the way across town for a book and then simply toss it out afterwards? And who was he arguing with over the phone?

When he shut off the engine it all clicked in Troy's brain.

Gabriella.

James Scott was probing and since she already recognized James himself he had to start sending other team players. Troy clenched his hands around the steering wheel. They were trying to get to Troy through Gabriella.

"Damn it" Troy muttered. He was frustrated with himself for putting Gabriella in this position. He couldn't let anything happen to her, he wouldn't. But, he didn't want to worry her by telling her to watch out for West High players. He knew that would scare her and he didn't want that. He'd have to talk to the team about it and just keep a sharp eye out.

--

The radio blasted Christmas music in the kitchen while Gabriella cooked dinner. She was listening to one of those stations that constantly streamed Christmas music from Thanksgiving though Boxing day. She wasn't complaining though, she loved Christmas music.

"_And that was Brenda Lee's Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" the radio announcer said enthusiastically after the song finished, "Up next we have one of my favorites. It might not be a holiday song but it certainly brings alive the spirit of Christmas joy. Here is Nat King Cole with L-O-V-E on Magic 98.3"_

Gabriella smiled as she heard the familiar music begin to play through the speakers in the corner of the kitchen. Ever since she'd heard the song in the opening of 'The Parent Trap' she'd fallen in love with not only the melody but also the lyrics.

Turning up the volume on the radio, Gabriella began to sway to the opening lyrics of the song.

_L is for the way you look at me  
O is for the only one I see  
V is very, very extraordinary  
E is even more than anyone that you adore can_

She sang along to the radio as she swirled the pasta into the boiling water. Gabriella was so caught up in the music that she didn't hear the doorbell ring.

_Love is all that I can give to you  
Love is more than just a game for two  
Two in love can make it  
Take my heart and please don't break it  
Love was made for me and you_

Luckily however, Lily did and so she rushed to the door to see who was there. Lily stood on her very tippy toes to peep through the small hole to see who was as the door. She grinned upon seeing their visitor. She quickly opened the door and was greeted by Troy,

"Hey Lily" he said a little too loudly for Lily's liking.

"Shhh!" she exclaimed holding her finger to her lips. Troy furrowed his eyebrows and shut the door behind him.

"You have to see this" Lily spoke softly.

"See what?" Troy asked his at normal tone.

"Shh!" she scolded. "If you want to see this come now and stay quiet!"By the time Troy and Lily made their way into the kitchen the trumpet solo was blasting loudly through the speakers. Troy smiled when his eyes landed on Gabriella. She was dancing smoothly to the music. Her hips swayed rhythmically to the suave melody.

Troy was about to make his presence known, but Lilly pulled him back,

"It gets better" she whispered.

Sure enough when Nat King Cole's jazzy voice started singing again so did Gabriella's sweet voice. 

L is for the way you look at me  
O is for the only one I see  
V is very, very extraordinary  
E is even more than anyone that you adore can

She moved away from the counter and opened a drawer. Pulling out knives and forks, she used a fork as a microphone and she continued to sing and dance in the kitchen. She walked to the small table and placed the utensils in the appropriate spots. Of course this table setting procedure didn't stop her from moving to the music. By this time she was so into the music that she was belting out the lyrics. 

Love is all that I can give to you  
Love is more than just a game for two  
Two in love can make it  
Take my heart and please don't break it

For the last few lines of the songs Gabriella pointed to herself and then out to 'you' as she shimmied to the beat of the music.

_Love was made for me and you  
Love was made for me and you_

The last line of the song was Gabriella's favorite; she threw her head back dramatically to belt out the lyrics.

_Love was made for me and you_

She spun around while the trumpet held the last note of the song until she noticed Troy leaning nonchalantly against the edge of the wall with an amused look on his face. Her cheeks immediately flushed red. Her hand quickly found the radio and shut it off.

"I was um…" Gabriella cleared her throat, trying to stall while she came up with an excuse, "cooking...and well, I just, you know" Troy smirked and raised an eyebrow, extremely amused with his girlfriend.

"What are you doing here" Gabriella sighed, giving up on the excuses. Troy chuckled as he walked over to Gabriella. He embraced her and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Well, I was on my way home when I realized you never gave me my essay back" he reminded her, "So, I came to retrieve it. I wasn't expecting a performance though. Do I get one every time I come now?" he asked, his lips curving into a grin.

"And you couldn't have called first?" Gabriella suggested.

"I tried that, but you didn't pick up." He countered. Gabriella furrowed her eyebrows and reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone. Opening it she saw she had one missed call. She frowned and looked back up at Troy,

"It was on silent for school" she groaned.

"Ahh learn the beauty of vibrate my love. It will make your life much easier" Troy grinned. Gabriella made a face and pushed her phone back into her pocket.

"So my essay" Troy reminded her.

"Right. I'll be right back, it's in my bag" She turned to walk out of the kitchen. "Watch that the pasta doesn't boil over please"

Troy nodded, scratching the back of his neck nervously. He prayed the pasta didn't boil over because truthfully he had no idea what to do if it did.

Luckily Gabriella was back in a flash with his essay in hand.

"Here you go"

"Thanks"

Troy glanced down at the paper; it was quite possible that there was more red writing than black ink.

"Jeez, Brie" he muttered tearing his eyes away from the red ink.

"Sorry" Gabriella said sheepishly, "I tend to go a bit overboard with editing. You should see what I do to my own paper. I hope it isn't too much"

"No, no it's good. Thanks" Troy assured her.

"So are you staying for dinner?" Gabriella asked as she pulled the steaming tomato sauce from the microwave.

"If you want me to"

"I'll take that as a yes" she smiled. She pulled another bowl from the cupboard and placed some freshly drained pasta in it as she had with the other three bowls. As she scooped sauce over the pasta she called,

"LUCAS! LILY! DINNER!"

Lucas and Lily quickly appeared in the kitchen to take their bowls from Gabriella.

"Troy!" Lucas greeted happily, "You're staying for dinner?"

"I am"

Lucas grinned.

"So aren't you glad you stayed quiet?" Lily asked, taking a bite of her pasta.

Troy laughed as Gabriella sent a glare to her sister,

"Lily!" she exclaimed.

"What?" Lily asked innocently, "I just thought he deserved to hear you sing so joyfully."

"I thought it was fantastic Brie" Troy smiled, "I really did"

"It was so embarrassing though, I didn't think anyone was watching" Gabriella groaned.

"You were happy Gabriella, really happy, Troy deserved to see it" Lucas pointed out. Lily nodded, agreeing completely with her brother. It was true, Gabriella had been elated lately and Lucas and Lily were so happy for her. She of all people deserved the love and happiness Troy brought her.

"How about this, next time I'll join in with you" Troy suggested. "I think we'd do a great duet"

"Who says there will be a next time" She pointed out.

"Oh there will be a next time" Troy said determinedly.

Gabriella couldn't help but giggle. The giggle wasn't only expressed because of the playful seriousness in Troy's eyes, but also as a way to release the embarrassment. She'd been so worried about all the uncertainty she was facing and the thoughts that ran through Troy's mind. However Troy's acceptance of her at her silliest of moments seemed to ease her uneasiness. She now fully understood that Troy loved her for her. So it didn't matter that she didn't know what was coming or how she was supposed to go about loving Troy, all that mattered was that Troy was standing at the bottom of the hole, ready to catch her. In fact, he had her safely in his arms.

So did it matter that she was terrified?

No.

She was simply and happily in love.

* * *

**A/N: And there you have it. I hope you all enjoyed it! I'm really sorry again for the wait!**

**Good luck to anyone who has to take midterms!**

**Please review!**


	17. Winter Wonderland

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Midterms are finally over!!! Anywho…thank you once again for all the lovely reviews! They mean the world to me! Enjoy…**

* * *

_Last Time…_

_Gabriella couldn't help but giggle. The giggle wasn't only expressed because of the playful seriousness in Troy's eyes, but also as a way to release the embarrassment. She'd been so worried about all the uncertainty she was facing and the thoughts that ran through Troy's mind. However Troy's acceptance of her at her silliest of moments seemed to ease her uneasiness. She now fully understood that Troy loved her for her. So it didn't matter that she didn't know what was coming or how she was supposed to go about loving Troy, all that mattered was that Troy was standing at the bottom of the hole, ready to catch her. In fact, he had her safely in his arms. _

_So did it matter that she was terrified?_

_No. _

_She was simply and happily in love. _

Chapter Seventeen – Winter Wonderland 

Sharpay plopped a bright pink binder right in the middle of the lunch table. Gabriella and Kelsi were startled from the middle of their conversation.

"Ok so since the boys have a basketball thing today and it's just us girlies, and Ryan of course, I need your opinions" Sharpay exclaimed.

Taylor sighed and rolled her eyes, "Ok shoot"

Sharpay grinned, "Ok, so the theme for Saturday is winter wonderland. Here are the sketches of the room" she opened her binder and showed the girls a variety of sketches. Gabriella gasped as she laid eyes on the magnificent sketches which had obviously been drawn by a professional. This worried her slightly. Sharpay's 'get together' was supposed to be in lieu of going to the school dance. Or at least that's what Gabriella thought.

"Woah, I thought we were just having a get together in place of the dance at school." Gabriella said.

"Oh it is most definitely in place of the school dance. This way we don't have to be jam packed into the gym where it's going to be a million degrees and eat whatever crappy food they have, but we still get to dance like no one's watching and get all dressed up." Sharpay explained "I mean, I know that's the only part of the dances I enjoy, getting to wear a fabulous dress!" she exclaimed.

That hadn't been what Gabriella had planned on. She'd seen this as a way to still have fun with her friends without having to spend money on a dress. Gabriella had meticulously planned out exactly how much money she could spend on each part of her life. Usually she stuck to a pretty loose budget, but since it was the holiday season she had no choice but to stick to her budget like her life depended on it. The truth of the matter was it really did. Spending 50 or even just 20 dollars on a dress would mean she'd have to take that money from something else, like food or rent. So in the scheme of things buying a dress was out of the question and she certainly didn't have a nice dress in her closet as of right now.

"So what do you guys think, should we go with just candles or do you think we'll need more light?" Sharpay asked thoughtfully as flipped through the binder of sketches, fabrics and decorations. "Or since the theme is winter wonderland, which means blues and whites, should we have blue lights? Hmmm"

"Oooh" Kelsi cooed, "That sounds pretty, blue lights. I would do a ton of candles with some blue lights."

"Yeah, I agree, you need some large lights source for a room that big" Taylor added.

"I'm glad you think so because the blue light will reflect fabulously off of the crystals on my dress. What do your dresses look like?" Sharpay asked excitedly.

Gabriella tried to figure out a way to kindly tell Sharpay that she wouldn't be able to attend anymore while Taylor and Kelsi gushed about their dresses. Her attempts failed miserably and she let out a long sigh.

All three girls turned their head to Gabriella, looks of question spread across each one of their faces.

"What's wrong?" Kelsi asked.

"Um, I don't think I can come really" Gabriella mumbled.

"What?" Sharpay exclaimed.

"I don't want to leave Luc and Lily home alone that late into the night" Gabriella answered quietly. That statement hadn't been a lie, but it also hadn't been the entire reason. Truthfully she was embarrassed by her finical troubles when Sharpay seemed to be able to spend more money on a party than Gabriella had.

"Oh that's not a problem. They can come and spend time somewhere in the house. We have plenty of room and plenty of things to do." Sharpay assured Gabriella. Gabriella looked down dejectedly. Kelsi sensed Gabriella's troubles,

"It's something else as well isn't it?" Kelsi coaxed gently. Gabriella looked up at her friends with worrisome eyes. "You can tell us Gabi, we won't hold anything against you" Taylor and Sharpay nodded quickly to show their agreement with Kelsi's promise.

"I don't have a dress and I don't have the money to buy a dress. I know how important that was to you Sharpay but I just can't afford to buy a dress right now." Gabriella explained quietly

"Oh Gabi, we shouldn't have assumed you had the money for a dress. Don't worry we can just go casual, we wouldn't want you to miss out on the fun. Right Shar?" Taylor said.

"There is no way I'm changing the dress code." Sharpay said seriously, "I'll pay for your dress, don't worry about it Gabriella"

"Oh Sharpay, I couldn't. Especially with the amount of money that's already going into this party, I don't want to suck anymore money out of your pocket." Gabriella insisted.

A grin spread across Sharpay's face, "Ok, well then neither you nor I will have to pay a dime. I have the perfect dress for you. Mother got a shipment of dresses from Paris for free through connections. There's a light blue one that just doesn't lay right on me. It's perfect for you!"

Gabriella looked un-easy. She felt uncomfortable wearing someone else's dress, "I don't know…" she trailed off.

"Oh come on pleeease! It will look fabulous on you! I know it will!" Sharpay pleaded.

Gabriella thought about her proposal for a few moments. However, Sharpay being an impatient person continued to try and persuade Gabriella,

"If you don't wear it, it'll go to waste"

Gabriella couldn't help but smile at Sharpay's last point. Sharpay knew that would convince Gabriella and grinned at her accomplishment.

"Oh okay. Thank you Sharpay" Gabriella said finally. Kelsi and Taylor smiled, happy that Gabriella had agreed to come to the party.

Sharpay squealed,

"Perfect! But I still need your opinion. Do you think 30 large pillows in enough for all us?"

Gabriella let out a chuckled. The tone in Sharpay's voice had changed from excitement to seriousness in a matter of seconds.

"I think 30 is plenty"

--

"So dude have you thought about what you're going to get Gabs for Christmas?" Zeke asked Troy as the passed the ball to him.

"Uh…"

Troy dribbled the ball down the court and jumped up at the three point line sending the ball sailing through the basket.

Chad caught the rebound ball,

"Take it from me captain, start thinking about it early. You do not want to be shopping Christmas Eve" Chad said as he dribbled down the court.

"It's not that I haven't thought about it, I have. I just don't know what to get her" Troy confessed. He was quite worried about screwing up their first Christmas together. He wasn't sure what kind of thing to get her. He wanted to make sure whatever he got her would send the right message.

"You'll think of something. Get something that will mean the world to Gabriella" Zeke advised before he made a quick lay-up.

"Just don't get her clothes or a ring. If you get them too small she feels fat and if you get it too big she thinks that you think she's fat" Chad explained grasping the ball.

"What?"

"For once Chad speaks the truth man. Trust me, I made the mistake of getting Sharpay a shirt that was one size too big and let's just say in didn't go down so well." Zeke winced slightly at the memory.

"Ok I'm I'll keep that in mind then" Troy said.

"Do earrings come in different sizes?" Jason asked.

"Yeah there are like a ton of different shapes and sizes that earrings come in" Chad answered.

"What? I thought all earring holes were the same size!" Jason exclaimed.

Troy stifled a laugh as he tried to concentrate on making his lay-up.

"Sorry I misinterpreted the question. No all earrings fit in al girls' ears." Chad clarified through laughter.

"Oh good" Jason nodded shooting a free throw.

--

"Remind me again why we have to get all dressed up for this" Gabriella sighed as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. As much as she enjoyed wearing a dress as the next girl she couldn't help but feel slightly silly about the whole thing. There were only going to be 10 people, including her there and yet she had to dress up.

"Because that's part of the fun" Sharpay expressed dramatically. "Just please come out! You're going to look amazing!"

Gabriella sighed and looked at herself one last time in the mirror. The light blue chiffon was perfect for a winter wonderland themed party. The color offset her skin tone beautifully. She carefully smoothed the chiffon that flowed effortlessly from under her chest. The bust of the dress was woven into a v with the light blue chiffon and metallic blue chiffon.

Slowly Gabriella opened the door of Sharpay's bathroom and walked out gingerly.

Sharpay squealed.

"Gabriella! You look. Amazing."

Gabriella blushed lightly, "Thank you Sharpay. You look fantastic as well"

Sharpay grinned and twirled in her white, crystal encrusted dress. Sharpay's dress was breath-taking and extravagant.

"Now all we have to do is your hair" Sharpay said, taking Gabriella's wrist and pulling Gabriella to her vanity. Gabriella managed to grab a small box from her bag before she was forced to take a seat.

"I'm not sure if this will match or anything, but when you said the dress was blue I figured it was worth a shot to bring" Gabriella said nervously as she handed Sharpay the small box. Sharpay looked at Gabriella curiously, but when she opened the box her mouth dropped open. Inside was a beautiful light blue crystal barrette. There were light blue stones shaped into three flowers. Light blue crystals sparked in the center of each flower and around the flowers.

"Oh. My. God. Where did you get this?" Sharpay gasped

"My grandmother gave it to me. Do you think it will look ok with the dress?" Gabriella asked.

"It's perfect! We can pull your hair into a half ponytail and then use the barrette to hold it in place. Oh, I just can't get over how pretty this is" Sharpay gushed.

"Thank you. I haven't had the chance to ever wear it. I always hoped one day I'd get to wear. It means a lot to me. When you said my dress was blue, I hoped it would match. You really think it will look nice?"

"Yes!" Sharpay had already started pulling Gabriella's dark curls into a half ponytail. "It's going to look amazing!"

It only seemed like a matter of seconds before Sharpay had Gabriella's hair in a flawless half up-half down do.

Gabriella smiled at her reflection in the mirror. For the first time in a long time she felt truly beautiful. She just hoped others would see her that way.

--

Troy walked into the Evan's Mansion with Chad, Jason and Zeke. Ryan led them through the house until they came to a set of large double doors. They could hear music already playing and the laughter of girls. Before opening the doors Ryan turned to the guys,

"Just a word of warning, the room is…very extravagant. Sharpay put it all together, so be fair warned"

Troy raised his eyebrow at Chad, who shrugged his shoulders. As soon as Ryan opened the door however Troy saw what he meant.

Everything in the room was either blue or white and most everything sparkled. There was a lounge area with large white pillows placed in a way that created a sofa like structure. Small light blue pillows were dispersed throughout. Surrounding the area was an array of candles that provided a soft glowing illumination.

Lining the walls were fake trees that were made to look snow covered and several ice sculptures. Sparkling snowflakes hung delicately from the ceiling. The blue light reflected off of the sparkles and created distorted rainbows around the room. Between two ice sculptures there was a white table with a variety of sweet and savory delights.

The rest of the room glowed blue from the hanging fairy lights, draped across the ceiling. A DJ stood in front of a DJ table on the dance floor, which was covered in flake snow and balloons.

The room simply looked magical.

Taylor, Kelsi and Martha seemed to be enjoying themselves as they walked about the room, mesmerized its aura

Troy couldn't help but wonder where Gabriella was. He guessed she was locked up in Sharpay's room somewhere getting ready. He knew she felt a little bit guilty about wearing Sharpay's dress even though Sharpay had assured her otherwise.

It didn't surprise him really though, Gabriella was just like that. She usually found a way to feel guilty or worried about something. Troy was glad he knew of her worries because he would rather she tell someone than keep them hidden. Although she wouldn't always come right out and express her concerns to him, (that just wasn't in her nature) she would open up to him.

Right now he knew finance was Gabriella's big concern. She didn't really talk about it all too much because Troy assumed she was slightly embarrassed about it. He did know that all she really wanted to do was provide the best possible Christmas for her brother and sister. She'd figured out some sort of budget that factored in income and expenses. Troy had no idea how much money was being spent and how much was being earned because Gabriella hadn't allowed him to look at her work, but he did know she'd been taking longer shifts on more days.

Troy felt guilty, as did their entire group of friends, that Gabriella was working extra hours to buy _them_ presents as well. Troy had tried to convince her that she didn't need to get him anything. Gabriella however disagreed and refused to listen to him. He'd given up on trying to protest, knowing she wasn't going to budge from her position, but that didn't make the guilt go away.

He almost wished the holidays could be over so Gabriella could go back to her regular shifts and stop all this worrying. Tonight Troy would have to make sure she did nothing but have a good time. She needed a night to relax, without a care in the world.

Troy glanced up only to see the doors open again. Sharpay came out first, her dress sparkling brightly as the light hit it. Then Gabriella walked shyly through the doors. Troy felt himself inhale sharply, she looked absolutely breathtaking. He couldn't stop his eyes from roaming up and down her body, admiring its perfection. The dress's icy color made Gabriella's rich skin glow as she gazed around the room with her mouth agape in amazement of the extravagance of the room. Troy loved watching her expression change as she noticed different decorations.

Troy watched her angelic features until her eyes landed on him. A light blush crept onto her cheeks when she noticed he had been staring. Troy smiled reassuringly because he could tell she felt self-conscious. Troy started his approach towards Gabriella, smiling as he went.

Gabriella walked towards Troy and despite being a little unsteady in heels; she made it to him without falling.

"You look amazing" Troy murmured as he took Gabriella's hands in his. From up close Gabriella looked even more incredible. Her eyes twinkled happily and sparkled from the light.

She replied with a soft, "Thank you" and smiled.

Troy smirked slightly as he watched Gabriella's eyes do a once over on him. His attire consisted of dark jeans and a light blue shirt, which made his cerulean eyes pop.

"You look very handsome" Gabriella commented. "I don't think I've ever seen you all dressed up. I like it a lot" she confessed.

Troy grinned, "Well this is the first time I've seen you all dressed up and I must admit I like it as well"

--

_Just dance, gonna be okay, da da doo-doo-mmm  
Just dance, spin that record babe, da da doo-doo-mmm  
Just dance, gonna be okay, d-d-d-dance  
Dance, dance, just, j-j-just dance_

Gabriella was out of breath after dancing to one of her favorite upbeat songs. She'd been dancing most of the night, letting all her worries fade away for those few hours. Truthfully she had no idea what time it was – but she didn't care, she was enjoying herself.

"Ok, I think it's time for the last song of the night" The DJ announced. "Enjoy…"

The first notes of the piano in 'Bless the Broken Road' began to play. Gabriella recognized the song immediately. She hadn't heard it in a long time, but she loved it. She started looking around the room for Troy, they'd gotten separated when 'Every Time We Touch' came on a few songs back. Just as she thought he was nowhere to be found Gabriella felt a familiar pair of strong arms wrap around her from behind her.

"Would you care to dance my love?" he asked. Gabriella turned around to face him and smiled,

"Of course" she whispered. Troy took her hand in his and twirled her around once, before pulling her close by placing his other hand on the small of her back. Gabriella placed her free hand on Troy's forearm. Troy supported Gabriella's hand slightly out to the side of them. Their eyes locked together as the lyrics started,

_I set out on a narrow way many years ago  
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road  
But I got lost a time or two  
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through  
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you_

Their bodies molded together as they waltzed simply together. It didn't really that they weren't twirling and moving extensively, they both just enjoyed the comfort of their lover's arms.

_Every long lost dream led me to where you are  
Others who broke my heart they were like Northern stars  
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms  
This much I know is true  
That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you_

_I think about the years I spent just passing through  
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you  
But you just smile and take my hand  
You've been there you understand  
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true_

Gabriella let her gaze fall from Troy's mesmerizing eyes and rested her head on Troy's chest. She listened to his steady heartbeat as they continued to dance together.

_Every long lost dream led me to where you are  
Others who broke my heart they were like Northern stars  
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms  
This much I know is true  
That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you_

"Is this possible?" Gabriella mumbled.

"Is what possible?" Troy asked, looking down at Gabriella. Gabriella looked back up at Troy with curious eyes,

"Is _this_ possible? Is it possible to love you as much as I do, in this short amount of time?"

"If it wasn't possible I wouldn't feel the same way" Troy answered. Gabriella smiled softly,

"I love you" she whispered.

"Mmmm, me too" Troy murmured.

_Now I'm just rolling home  
Into my lover's arms  
This much I know is true  
That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you_

Troy dipped his head down and laid a simple kiss on Gabriella's lips. When Gabriella stood slightly taller to kiss him again, Troy let his hand slide up to support her neck as he kissed her again, more deeply.

_That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you._

As the song played its final note Gabriella kissed Troy one last time before she pulled away and rested her head on his chest again.

"What time is it?" Gabriella asked, yawning in the process.

"A little after 1:30 in the morning" Troy answered, glancing at his watch.

Gabriella's eyes widened, "Really? No wonder I feel so tired"

"Let's go sit down" Troy offered. The two walked over to the pillows. Troy sat down first and then pulled Gabriella with him. Gabriella nestled her head in the crook of Troy's neck and Troy draped his arms over her shoulder, pressing her against his side.

"Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded her head, "I had a wonderful time. I'm so glad I came"

"I'm glad" Troy said. Truthfully he was ecstatic that she had had a great time. A smile had never dissolved from her face and she had been radiating happiness the entire time. She'd spent most of the night dancing. Half the time she'd been dancing closely with Troy and the other half she'd spent dancing to girly songs with the girls and belting out lyrics.

The guys had spent less time dancing than the girls and more time eating. Troy, although he spent a lot of time eating as well, had also been intoxicated by Gabriella's dancing. He loved the way her body moved as she swayed to the music, the way she threw head back as she belted out lyrics and twirled around. He could have watched her all night long.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled and looked down at the beautiful girl in his arms, who was looking up at him with excited, but tired eyes,

"It couldn't have been better"

Gabriella smiled and closed her eyes gently for a moment before they shot open and she sat up.

"Lucas! Lily! Oh god, they must be exhausted!" She scrambled to get up from the pillows. "How could I forget them?"

"Woah, woah, it's ok. I'm sure they're fine" Troy tried to assure her as he stood up as well. Gabriella seemed disoriented as she looked around the room frantically searching for an exit.

"I forgot about them Troy! How could I do that?" Gabriella stopped only momentarily to face Troy, her eyes full of worry and anger aimed towards herself.

And it was ruined. His wish that Gabriella would have nothing to worry about tonight was over. Now she stood in front of him angry at herself and worried about her brother and sister.

"Who'd you forget about?" Sharpay asked curiously, her stilettos clicking as she walked up to the couple.

"Lucas and Lily, where are they? We have to get home, they must be exhausted." Gabriella answered quickly.

"Oh they're fine. They went to bed hours ago. If it's ok, they're sleeping in the guest rooms. I didn't think the party would go this late, but now that it has I say you all just sleep over" Sharpay suggested.

Gabriella let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you. Thank you"

"Don't worry about it. Now come on, let's get some pjs on, my feet are killing me" Sharpay pulled Gabriella away from Troy and towards one of the doors. Troy watched as Gabriella was pulled past the large doors along with the other girls. He sighed, for once he needed to remind himself to thank Sharpay

--

An hour later the whole gang lay on the pillows asleep. After getting changed and then chatting excitedly the time had finally caught up to them and the exhaustion set in. One by one the gang had fallen asleep, leaving only one awake, Troy.

Troy laid face up, his hands locked behind his head. He could hear Chad's loud snoring fill the room and was slightly surprised it hadn't woken any one up. However, Troy didn't let Chad's obnoxious snores consume his mind, instead he focused on listening to the deep breathing of the beautiful girl curled up near him.

Gabriella was curled up, facing away from him about a foot away. The whole situation had been slightly awkward for the two. Troy didn't want to pressure Gabriella into sleeping in his arms as much as he would have loved that. Gabriella seemed slightly nervous about the whole thing and Troy didn't want to give her a reason to be. She was definitely the take-it-slow kind of girl. Their relationship despite being very intense emotionally was physically innocent.

Troy had never experienced feelings as strong as the ones he was feeling at this moment in time. It was like he needed the air she breathed to survive. He wasn't sure how he had been living before he'd met her.

He felt protective of her which is why he was angry with James Scott. Whatever that low-life was up to could not be good. Anything having to do with James was never good. He had contemplated confronting the West High team about their behavior, but he had decided against it, figuring it would be better if they didn't know Troy knew they were up to something. They might be less secretive that way.

Even so, Troy was still nervous. He knew James Scott hated him with a passion and that was why he was planning something. And that killed him. It killed Troy that it would be his fault should anything happen to Gabriella. Given Gabriella's broken past, she didn't deserve anymore misfortune, so Troy was going to do whatever it took to make sure that didn't happen.

He sighed and looked over at the girl sleeping next to him. He wished he could see her face, the last time he'd seen her asleep he could have watched her for days. As if Gabriella could read his mind she turned in her sleep until she was lying on her back and her head fell to the side facing Troy.

He watched, mesmerized, as her chest rose and fell with each breath she took. Her face looked soft and serene as if she didn't have a care in the world. He sighed, if only that were the truth. Gabriella had more worries than any 16 year old should have and Troy hated that. He wished there was something more he could do, something he could say to erase all the worry, to take away the pain. He hoped just loving her was enough.

Just then Gabriella stirred again in her sleep. This time however she rolled towards Troy. She rolled close to him, her head moving so it was resting on top of his shoulder. She snuggled close to him as she let one arm rest on his chest.

Troy was afraid to move. He didn't want to wake her and he didn't have any idea what he was supposed to do. Carefully, he moved his hand from the back of his head so one fell to his side. With the other arm, he bravely wrapped it around Gabriella. He closed his eyes and breathed in Gabriella's sweet scent, enjoying the closeness they were achieving.

He felt his eyes begin to droop, as the tiredness started to take its toll. He hoped the night would creep slowly by; he didn't want to move from this position. Ever.

* * *

**A/N: Did you like it? Hopefully you did. The song I used for the slow dance was "Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts – I will put a link in my profile. The other song, in case you are wondering is "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga – which is one of my favorite song to dance to :). I will also put pictures of Gabriella's dress and barrette in my profile. Please review! Thank you for reading!**


	18. Christmas Eve

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! Enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_Just then Gabriella stirred again in her sleep. This time however she rolled towards Troy. She rolled close to him, her head moving so it was resting on top of his shoulder. She snuggled close to him as she let one arm rest on his chest. _

_Troy was afraid to move. He didn't want to wake her and he didn't have any idea what he was supposed to do. Carefully, he moved his hand from the back of his head so one fell to his side. With the other arm, he bravely wrapped it around Gabriella. He closed his eyes and breathed in Gabriella's sweet scent, enjoying the closeness they were achieving. _

_He felt his eyes begin to droop, as the tiredness started to take its toll. He hoped the night would creep slowly by; he didn't want to move from this position. Ever. _

Chapter Eighteen – Christmas Eve

Gabriella stood in front of the stove cooking French toast at around 10am on Christmas Eve morning. She watched as Lucas and Lily decorated a small tree, which sat on an end table, while laughing and smiling. Gabriella was pleased that she had been able to find inexpensive decorations to bring the Christmas spirit to life in their apartment. To see Lucas and Lily so happy, immersed in the joyful spirit of Christmas, made the aches and pains from working long hours well worth it.

When Gabriella saw that the thick bread was beginning to turn golden brown, she grabbed three plates from the cupboard and called Lucas and Lily to the kitchen. She carefully transferred each piece of sizzling French toast to each of the plates. Lucas and Lily had already gotten cups and utensils. They were already filling the cups with juice when Gabriella placed the plates on the table. She quickly found the maple syrup from a cupboard and sat down with Lucas and Lily at the table.

"Eat up guys" Gabriella coaxed, handing Lily the syrup after she'd quickly poured some over her own breakfast.

Gabriella carefully cut into her French toast while she watched Lucas pour a ton of maple syrup over his breakfast after he finally got his hands on the bottle.

"You have enough there?" Gabriella asked sarcastically.

"Mmm…." Lucas pondered, "No." He proceeded to dump more maple syrup on his breakfast.

"Lucas that's gross!" Lily exclaimed.

"It's not gross," Lucas protested, "It's…sweet!" he grinned triumphantly, proud of his pun. Gabriella couldn't help but laugh at her younger brother,

"You can put as much maple syrup on your French toast as you like, but you are going to have to find a way to eat it all." She reminded him.

"Oh I will" he grinned. It was then that he started shoveling the food into his mouth. Lily just shook her head and kept eating her food.

Lucas finished way before his sisters, but that was only to be expected as he had been shoveling the food into his mouth like he'd never seen food before. What wasn't quite expected was that there was a knock on the door. Lily and Lucas looked to their older sister to see if she had any idea who could be at the door, but she looked just as confused as them.

Gabriella stood up and walked to the door. She hoped it wasn't someone who would care that she still in her pajamas, like the landlord for example. She tried to brush her hair with her fingers and smooth out her old t-shirt and flannel pajama pants, to try and look more presentable.

She opened the door slowly, trying to figure out who could be knocking at 10:15 am on Christmas Eve morning. When the door was fully opened Gabriella was surprised to see none other than Troy standing in the hall.

"Good morning" He greeted warmly. Gabriella smiled and threw her arms around him, planting a kiss on his lips.

"What are you doing here?" she asked curiously.

"Surprising you." Troy answered, grinning down at her, "I thought I'd come hang out with you guys today, since tomorrow I'm going to be stuck at home with the family"

"Well come in, we're almost finished with our breakfast. Would you like me to make you some?"

"As lovely as that sounds, I actually thought we could go somewhere this morning." Troy suggested.

"Like where?"

"Do you like ice skating?" Troy asked.

"Yes! Well, I used to. I haven't been in ages, but yes I love it!" Gabriella rambled excitedly.

"Good, why don't you get dressed and we can go right now" Troy offered. Troy's reminder that she wasn't dressed caused a blush to appear on her cheeks. It had kind of slipped her mind that she was still in her pajamas when it had been Troy at the door. She was mortified that Troy had to see her like this.

"Urg, this is embarrassing!" Gabriella exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. Troy raised his eyebrow,

"Why?"

"Look at me. I haven't even brushed my hair yet!"

Troy simply smiled, "I still think you look beautiful."

The blush didn't disappear because of Troy's kind words it only seemed to intensify. Gabriella shook her head, smiling slightly,

"You are too good to me."

Troy flashed Gabriella a grin before Gabriella disappeared around the corner to get dressed.

--

Gabriella carefully placed one foot on the slick, slippery ice. Then she cautiously placed her other foot next to the one already on the ice, so the two ice skates were parallel. She took a deep breath and pushed with her right foot to move forward, away from the entrance. She glided about two feet to where Lily and Lucas were standing, supported by the wall of the ice rink, to wait for Troy. Troy easily glided to where the three siblings were standing.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Troy ginned enthusiastically.

The four took off around the rink. Like most skaters they skated slowly the first lap, just to warm up. As they became more confident their speed increased. Since there weren't too many people at the rink they ended up having a lot of races. The boys however enjoyed racing a lot more than Lily and Gabriella.

"Last race Troy! We're tied. Winner of this one takes all!" Lucas challenged.

"Deal. We go to the other end of the rink and back."

Troy and Lucas backed up to the wall where their race across the rink would be the longest. Troy looked over at Gabriella and she recognized her cue.

"On your marks. Get set. Go!" Gabriella shouted. Troy and Lucas shot off down the rink, their hockey skates allowed them to move incredibly fast across the ice. Gabriella hoped they wouldn't fall. She turned back to Lily who was practicing skating backwards. Gabriella smiled,

"It helps to look backwards and not look at your feet" She advised.

"But then I'll trip over my feet" Lily pointed out. Gabriella shook her head and stood next to Lily,

"Watch, it's just like skating forward, except you push your skates a little in front of you. Trust me, if you don't look back you'll crash into something or some_one_ and that is no fun."

Lily took Gabriella's advice and looked behind her as she slowly moved backwards on the ice.

"See? That's much better" Gabriella encouraged. Lily grinned as she gained speed and confidence.

Just then, a shower of ice came raining down on Gabriella's legs. She turned around to see Troy and Lucas panting and supporting themselves with the outer wall of the rink.

"Wow, guys thanks for the shower" she joked.

"Our bad" Lucas said.

"So who won?" Lily asked curiously.

"Me!" Lucas exclaimed, "I beat him by a mile!"

"Only because an old lady was in my way" Troy defended. Gabriella stifled a laugh. He seemed so serious about his defense.

"Little bruise to the ego there wildcat?"

Troy held up his hand to protest, "I did not lose per say. I would have won, but like I said, there was this old lady. What was I supposed to do, run her over?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Sure…"

"If you were watching you would have seen it" Troy reminded her, "What were you and Lily doing anyway?"

"Skating backwards" Lily answered triumphantly.

"Psh, that's easy. Bet you can't skate on one foot" Lucas challenged.

"You can't even skate on one foot!" Lily countered.

"Watch me!" Lucas proceeded to push off of his skates and after a few moments he managed to lift one foot slightly in the air. However, he was only able to keep his foot up for a few seconds. Nevertheless, it was enough to make Lily feel intimidated. Gabriella leaned forward to whisper in Lily's ear,

"Lean forward slightly and lift your foot in the back. It will help you keep your center of balance."

Lily nodded discreetly and started on her own glide. Just as Gabriella had told her, she lifted her leg a little bit off the ice behind her. Despite being slightly wobbly she was able to glide on one leg for a good ten seconds. Amazed, Lily spun around to face Troy, Gabriella and Lucas,

"I didn't even know I could do that!" she exclaimed. Gabriella winked at her, happy that her sister had been able to feel her own triumph just as Lucas had.

Troy had watched Gabriella give Lily advice and couldn't help but be curious about how she'd known what to do.

"Since when are you an expert ice skater?" Troy asked quietly. Gabriella laughed lightly,

"I wouldn't say expert. Let's just say I used to watch a lot of ice skating competitions"

"You were an ice skater?" Troy raised his eyebrows. Gabriella laughed at the thought of being a figure skater.

"No," she laughed, "With my clumsiness, ice dancing wouldn't be such a good idea. I just watched a lot of competitions on TV and I happen to be quite observant."

"Ahhh, I see"

Lily watched Gabriella and Troy interact. She couldn't help but smile at the happiness she felt radiating from them. Truthfully, she never thought she would ever see her older sister genuinely happy.

In all the years they'd lived in terror with their father, Lily had watched Gabriella try to be happy around Lucas and her. But Lily wasn't stupid, she had seen past the thin veil of happiness Gabriella had draped over herself. Maybe that happiness had been real, but it had only existed for brief periods of time with underlying pain that the happiness could not make up for.

Now, for the first time she watched Gabriella laugh and smile with joy that had no boundaries. Lily herself had never known true happiness. Sure, there were times when she'd been happy, mostly due to Gabriella. However, she'd never known what it felt like to not have to be afraid to go home or not have to worry about her brother and sister getting hurt. For the first time, Lily felt safe and happy. Moving to Albuquerque was the best thing that ever happened to them. Albuquerque had become everything to Lily. It had become their happiness, security and love.

The love she was talking about didn't come from Gabriella that love had been there from the beginning. The love she was talking about wasn't directed at Lily herself, but at Gabriella. The love Lily watched right now on the ice, between Gabriella and Troy. However, she couldn't help but feel a tiny bit guilty about forcing Gabriella to always bring Lucas and her along whenever she went anywhere. Gabriella and Troy needed some alone time and all she had to do was figure out a way to make sure they got it.

"Hey Luc, there was something I wanted to show you across the rink." Lily said.

Lucas made a face, "Do you have to show it to me _now?_"

"Yes" she gritted her teeth and motioned her head towards the teenage couple, "I need to show it to you now."

After a few moments Lucas seemed to get the picture, his mouth formed an 'o' shape, "Ok then, lead me to it."

Gabriella smiled at her brother and sister, their tone could have been more discrete, but she was happy to take the alone time with Troy.

After winking conspicuously at Gabriella, Lily raced off with Lucas. Troy let out a chuckle,

"Have I mentioned that your brother and sister are so funny?"

Gabriella laughed, "I know, sometimes I don't know what to do with them"

"Well I'm not complaining." Troy grinned, holding out his arm, "Shall we?"

"We shall" Gabriella grinned back, linking her arm with Troy's. Her hand held onto his bicep as the couple managed to skate together around the rink. They managed to maintain perfect rhythm together, even when they were in hysterics. The two could have skated around the rink for hours on end together, but after a while Gabriella noticed her siblings sitting on the bench outside the rink, looking exhausted. Just after seeing them the four of them grabbed lunch at the café at the rink before heading back to the apartment.

--

"Ok, here's a hot chocolate for you and one for me" Gabriella handed Troy his hot drink and placed her own on the coffee table in front of the sofa, so she could sit down, before she picked her mug back up. Troy sat in the corner of sofa, with his legs stretched out, so it was easy for Gabriella to sit comfortably with her back against his chest.

"Thank you so much for today" Gabriella said reflecting on the wonderful day she'd had. After they had gotten back from ice skating and lunch, the four of them had come back to Gabriella's apartment and had played a myriad of games. They'd played everything from monopoly to the karaoke game Troy had brought over. To say it had been fun would be a massive understatement, the four of them had had more fun they any of them thought possible.

"Trust me, I enjoyed it just as much as you did" Troy answered. Gabriella smiled and took a gulp of her hot chocolate. "Let's play a game!" she said suddenly.

Troy raised an eyebrow skeptically, "What kind of game?"

"What's your favorite Christmas blank?" Gabriella answered excitedly.

"Ok, you first"

"Ok, What's your favorite Christmas song?"

"Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. That song is hilarious." Troy answered quickly, "And yours?"

"I have a lot. But I'd have to say my favorite favorite is Sleigh Ride." Gabriella decided finally. "Now it's your turn to ask a question."

"Ok, favorite Christmas present?" Troy asked.

Gabriella thought for a second and then her face lit up, "You're going to laugh, but when I was about 7 I really really wanted one of those Barbie Vans, you know the one that's like a house inside when you lift off the top?"

Troy stared at her blankly, "Brie, I didn't play with Barbies I was more a sword and guns type of kid."

"Oh, well whatever, I really wanted this Barbie Van, but my parents said they weren't going to get it for me. Then on Christmas morning I saw a box that looked about the right size to be the van, I got really excited and ripped all the paper off and it was the van. It turned out I had mentioned it to my grandma that I wanted it so she got it for me. I was so excited; I played with it for hours and hours." Gabriella smiled, "Best Christmas gift, solely because it was a complete surprise. What about you Troy?"

"When I was 5 or 6, my parents got me little kid basketball hoop, because my brother's was always too high for me to reach. I used to play with that thing every day for hours on end. That hoop pretty much cultivated my love for basketball." Troy explained.

"Ok, so last one, favorite Christmas memory." Gabriella wrapped her hands around her mug tighter, before she took another gulp of hot chocolate. She was really looking forward to learning about one of Troy's favorite memories. She'd come to the realization that though Troy knew a lot about her past she didn't know as much about his.

Troy took a few moments to process through his past Christmases. Finally he decided on one, "I think I was about 8 or 9 years old and my parents wouldn't tell Nora, Alex or I where we were going. They blacked out all the windows in the back of the car so we couldn't read the road signs and then during some parts we had to wear blindfolds" Troy laughed at the extent his parents went to for the surprise, "Nora being the smarty pants she was, was trying to figure out where we were based on how long we'd been traveling and how fast we'd been going, but it didn't really help. Anyway, finally they deemed it ok that we take off our blindfolds, which we'd had on for like an hour, and we were at Disneyland in California. All three of us were completely floored. Nora was excited about Sea World and Alex and I were ready to go on the fastest rides. That wasn't the best part though, the next day my dad said he had another surprise for Alex and I andmy mom had one for Nora, but hers wasn't nearly as awesome as ours was. Our dad took us to a Lakers game and we got to meet Shaq, that was when he played on the Lakers, and he let us play some basketball with him. Oh, it was fantastic." Troy sighed contently, "Best Christmas ever."

Gabriella smiled, "How did your dad do that? It must be impossible to get a chance to play against Shaq."

Troy shook his head, "To this day he still won't tell us. Alex and I reckon he knew someone who knew someone or something. What about you Brie? What's your favorite Christmas memory?" Troy looked at Gabriella curiously, wondering if it had been the right question to ask. He was slightly unsure that the question might bring up some painful memories. However, Gabriella seemed to have no problem answering the question,

"I was 8 years old. My grandma had come over from Spain to visit for Christmas and both my parents seemed happy, as did Lucas and Lily. It wasn't that anything really exciting happened, it was just the last Christmas I remember hearing my family laugh genuinely around me. We still lived at home in North Carolina, everything was just…happy." Gabriella said, her voice slightly somber as she spoke, "Sorry! That was depressing. I didn't mean to make it depressing. I mean it's not really depressing if you think about it, because we were all happy, but I guess-" Gabriella rambled nervously, luckily, as always, Troy was there to cut her off,

"Brie, I think it sounds like that Christmas fantastic. I didn't know you lived in North Carolina though."

"Yup, I lived in North Carolina for the first 8 years of my life, and then it was about 4 months after that Christmas that we moved to Connecticut. It's kinda weird thought, even after all these years I still think of North Carolina as my hometown." Gabriella explained, while she tipped her mug up so she could drink more of her hot chocolate.

As she drank the hot liquid something caught her eye under the Christmas tree, something that hadn't been under the small tree while Troy, Lucas, Lily and she had finished decorating it. Or should she say somethings? She leaned forward to try and get a better look at what could be under the tree.

"What is that?" she mumbled to herself.

"Hmmm?" Troy asked, furrowing his eyebrows, as he watched Gabriella get up from his lap and walk towards the Christmas tree. Confused, he stood up as well and followed her across the room.

Gabriella knelt beside the tree to look at the new objects that had appeared under the tree. She gasped when she saw two extra presents, one for Lucas and one for Lily both of which were from Troy.

Gabriella quickly stood up and turned around to face Troy, "What are these?" She was slightly angry with him. He shouldn't have done this.

"Presents for Luc and Lily" Troy answered casually.

"Troy Bolton you did not have to do that!" Gabriella exclaimed quietly, so Lucas and Lily wouldn't hear.

"But I wanted to" Troy countered. Gabriella shook her head. She felt bad that Troy had gotten her brother and sister presents and she hadn't gotten his brother and sister presents.

"No, but you shouldn't have"

This time Troy shook his head, he could see exactly what Gabriella was thinking, "Gabriella, please do not worry about it."

"But, but-" Gabriella protested before she was cut off by Troy,

"But nothing, it's my pleasure" Troy insisted. Gabriella sighed disgruntled; she knew she wasn't going to win this argument.

In seeing that he had won, Troy decided now would be a good time as any to give Gabriella her present,

"I'll be right back" he promised. Gabriella looked confused, where could he possibly be going? She watched as he walked to his coat and pulled a brightly colored, wrapped box out of one of the pockets. It immediately clicked,

"Oooo, let me get mine!" Gabriella exclaimed, dashing to her room quickly to grab her own brightly wrapped gift.

She made her way back into the living room and stood facing Troy directly. Suddenly, she felt really nervous about her gift. What if he didn't like it? What if he thought it stupid? What if it wasn't enough? She didn't think she'd ever been this nervous to give someone a gift.

"You want to go first?" Gabriella asked quietly. Little did she know Troy was feeling the exact same way she was – terrified.

"Sure" he said, trying to sound confident. He held out his present and Gabriella took it, carefully tearing the paper open. Once all the paper was off she slowly lifted the lid of the white box. She gasped when she laid eyes on the silver bracelet. When Gabriella pulled the bracelet out of the box, she saw that there were already charms linked on it.

"It's beautiful" she exhaled, "Can you put it on for me?"

Troy grinned, happy that she seemed to like his present. He took the bracelet by each end and managed to fasten the charm bracelet securely around Gabriella's wrist. He watched as her eyes lit up as she held up her wrist, so she could look curiously at each of the charms. Troy leaned forward so he could explain the charms he'd chosen. Carefully fingering each charm he explained each of their meanings,

"The bowl is because we have cereal for dinner a lot together, um this music note is because you're the most amazing singer," Gabriella smiled bashfully, "A book because number one you're brilliant and number two you always help me with my school work, chopsticks because we had Chinese food on our first date and chopsticks are the only utensil you should be allowed to eat Chinese food with," Gabriella laughed at the sweet memory of their first date, "This flower represents a lot of things, it's for the rooftop because obviously there are lots of flowers there, the red in the center is for East High, I had to get some school spirit in here somehow and last but not least, it's because you're beautiful just like a flower. Then this last one is really obvious and you shouldn't have to ever be in doubt of it, but it's a heart because I love you." Troy looked up at Gabriella, "And that's all" he finished bashfully.

Gabriella didn't even know what to day. She was blown away by the thoughtfulness of Troy's gift, not to mention the sheer beauty of it. She decided that there were no appropriate words in the English language to express her gratitude, so she leaned up to press her lips against Troy's. Troy was a little surprised by the sudden kiss, but felt thankful to be receiving it. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, he let his hand fall to the small of her back so he could pull her closer. Gabriella melted into his arms as her lips brushed his in a sweet, passionate kiss. Troy ran his tongue over her bottom lip, in hopes of entrance. Gabriella quickly obliged and their tongues danced together in a fiery kiss.

When air became a problem, Gabriella pulled away, her forehead still touching Troy's, "Mmmm, thank you." she whispered. Troy smiled,

"I'm glad you like it."

"Like it is an understatement, I love it" Gabriella whispered back, "I hope you like mine though."

Nervously she held out her present. It had taken her ages to figure out what to get Troy, when an idea had suddenly hit her. She'd been unsure of the idea at one point, but after some convincing she'd gone ahead with it.

Troy ripped open the paper and saw a CD encased in a CD case with a letter on top. He looked up at Gabriella curiously. She silently urged him to read the short letter.

_Troy, _

_For all the love and happiness you've brought to my life you deserve the world and everything in it. I figured this was the only thing that only I could give you. I know how much you like hearing me sing, so I made a CD of songs all sung by me. Most of them express the deep love I have for you in one way or another, but some tell my story and others just make me smile. So, I hope this makes you smile. _

_Merry Christmas_

_All my love, _

_Gabriella_

_xoxoxo_

Troy's face lit up as he read Gabriella's note,

"How did you…?" he trailed off, in pure amazement and excitement.

"Kelsi helped me. She knows somebody who knows the president of the AV club." Gabriella explained, "I'm not sure how it turned out, I was too afraid to listen to it" She confessed, "So, you'll have to tell me if it's really bad."

"Gabriella Montez, there is no way that this could possibly be even the slightest bit bad. This is going to be amazing. Do you have a CD player? I want to listen to it."

Gabriella suddenly looked embarrassed, "Uh…we only have a radio. Sorry"

"Well, I guess I'll have to leave then" Troy said, shrugging his shoulders.

"What?" Gabriella gasped, "Why?"

"So I can listen to the CD. I want to hear what you've put on here." Troy explained as he turned to walk towards the exit, a smile playing on his lips.

"But – but…" Gabriella trailed off. She wasn't ready for him to go. She didn't want him to go.

Troy turned back around and started laughing. Putting her hands on her hips Gabriella demanded to know what was so funny,

"I can't believe you thought I would actually leave." He moved closer to Gabriella, "I am staying here as long as I can" he whispered, placing his hands on her hips so he could draw her closer. "But do tell me, what songs did you sing beautifully for me on here?"

Gabriella's eyes looked up, as if they were trying to see into her brain, "You know that song I sang for you the first time I sang? That one is on there. Um, there are two Rascal Flatts covers, a song by Kate Voegele. Um…a really personal one as well as I'm Yours by Jason Mraz because how can you not like that song. Oh, this amazing song by Savage Garden, and a few other love songs. I have some Matchbox Twenty songs. Ooo and this fantastic song by David Archuleta, which I can't stop listening to. There might be more, I just can't think of them all." Gabriella rambled on, holding Troy's interest the entire time. He was thrilled with all the hard work Gabriella had obviously put into the CD.

"Sounds amazing. Thank you Brie. This means a lot to me." Troy said genuinely. Gabriella smiled shyly,

"I'm glad you like it."

"In your own words Ms. Montez I do not like it, I love it" Troy smiled cheekily. Gabriella laughed at Troy's silly face.

"Merry Christmas Troy."

"Merry Christmas Brie."

--

Later that night or more that early morning Troy sat on his bed after coming home from Gabriella's. At about midnight it had become pretty obvious Gabriella was ready to collapse. Though she insisted she could stay up all night with him (as could he) Troy knew it was in her best interest that she went to sleep because no doubt Lucas and Lily would want to get up early the next morning. That and Troy knew he had to get home as well.

The first he he'd done after getting home was practically run to his room. While walking across his room he'd opened the CD case to pull out the CD Gabriella had just given him. He smiled at the simple writing on the CD, 'I love you. Merry Christmas'

While shuffling around his room, the CD had played, filling the room with Gabriella's sweet voice. He recognized some of songs she'd mentioned as well as some others which she'd probably forgotten were on the CD. It was obvious which song was the personal one Gabriella had been talking about. The song must have been the one Kelsi and Sharpay had been talking about in Spanish class those months ago. Troy was glad she'd included the song, it made the CD all the more personal.

Troy lay in bed, still listening to the CD as he was about to fall asleep. As his eyes became droopy, sleep overcame him. The last few verses of a song played just before he drifted off to dream land. They became the last thoughts that entered his brain, thus making the last thoughts about his dear Gabriella.

_Only you can take me sailing in your deepest eyes  
Bring me to my knees and make me cry  
And no one's ever done this  
Everything was just a lie and I know, yes, I know_

_This is where it all begins  
So tell me it will never end  
I can't fool myself, it's you and no one else_

_If I could wish upon tomorrow tonight would never end  
If you asked me I would follow  
But for now I'll just pretend  
'Cause if anyone can make me fall in love, you can_

**A/N: Wow, I seriously did not expect that to be this long. It's over 5,000 words. Just a little heads up, this was the last pure fluff chapter. Thank you for reading. Please review!**

**Ah! How could I forget? I fell in love with a song called "You Can" by David Archuleta, so I worked it into my story because I thought it pertained to it. So check it out! I'll put a link in my profile!**


	19. The Championship Game

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: You guys have no idea how long I've been waiting to post this chapter and the next one. Enjoy…**

* * *

_Last Time…_

_He smiled at the simple writing on the CD, 'I love you. Merry Christmas' _

_While shuffling around his room, the CD had played, filling the room with Gabriella's sweet voice. He recognized some of songs she'd mentioned as well as some others which she'd probably forgotten were on the CD. It was obvious which song was the personal one Gabriella had been talking about. The song must have been the one Kelsi and Sharpay had been talking about in Spanish class those months ago. Troy was glad she'd included the song, it made the CD all the more personal. _

_Troy lay in bed, still listening to the CD as he was about to fall asleep. As his eyes became droopy, sleep overcame him. The last few verses of a song played just before he drifted off to dream land. They became the last thoughts that entered his brain, thus making the last thoughts about his dear Gabriella. _

Chapter Nineteen – The Championship Game

The day before the championship game Troy Bolton walked into East High, with his hood up and his head down. If the back of his hoodie didn't read 'BOLTON' in big red letters no one would know it was their basketball team's captain walking down the hallway dejectedly.

He moved quickly down the hallway, avoiding making eye contact with as many people as he could. Luckily, most people were too engrossed in their conversations to notice him walking down the hall.

Troy arrived at his locker, quickly opened it and started trading books he needed with ones he didn't . It wasn't long before a bubbly brunette showed up beside him,

"Good morning," Gabriella greeted cheerfully.

"Morning" Troy mumbled, his gaze avert from Gabriella's eyes.

"Are you alright Troy?" Gabriella asked concerned. Troy's behavior was quite strange. Usually, Troy greeted Gabriella with a good morning kiss and a bright smile. Today Troy seemed to be looking down past Gabriella and his tone was less than cheerful.

"I'm fine Brie. What would be wrong?" Troy tried, unsuccessfully, to convince her. Concern spread across Gabriella's face as she bent down to try and look Troy in the eye. As Gabriella tried to look at him, Troy turned his face directly away from her, seemingly trying to hide something from her. Finally, Gabriella reached her hand out and gently pushed Troy's cheek, so his head would turn towards her. She gasped when she saw what Troy had been trying to hide, a large black eye.

"What happened?"

"It's nothing, I'm fine." Troy tried to assure her.

"That is not nothing Troy" Gabriella said sternly. "What happened?"

"It doesn't matter what happened or how it happened. All that matters is that you're alright and I'm alright," Troy's voice was serious and convincing, but Gabriella refused to back down. Troy had mentioned her; he'd mentioned that she was alright. Did it have something to do with her?

"Did it have something to do with me?" Gabriella asked.

Troy groaned silently, why did his girlfriend have to be so smart? Of course it had to do with her. It had everything to do with her. The question wasn't the hard part though. The hard part was whether or not he should tell her.

If he said yes, it would worry her immensely, but he wouldn't be lying to her face. If he answered no, he'd be lying to her, but she wouldn't be worried. So, that's what it came down to, would it hurt Gabriella more if she was lied to or if she was worried?

"It does have something to do with me doesn't it?" Gabriella assumed.

Damn it. He'd taken too long of a pause and she'd figured it out. Now, the question was how much should he tell her. He couldn't bear to watch her break down the way he knew she would when she found out. Maybe it was slightly selfish on his part, but he just couldn't deal with that kind of pain.

"Yeah" he said quietly.

"What happened Troy?" Gabriella repeated. She was a little but angry he'd gotten into a fight over her and she wanted to know exactly what happened.

"Brie, please don't worry about it. Really it was nothing." Troy explained.

Gabriella couldn't help the sigh that fell through her lips. She knew Troy wasn't going to let on anymore, but that didn't mean her concern disappeared.

"Did you at least ice it yesterday?" she asked, reaching up to gently touch the bruise. Troy winced as Gabriella's finger came in contact with his skin,

"I may have forgotten that" he confessed, trying to look innocent.

"Didn't your mom say anything?"

Troy looked down at the floor, scratching the back of his neck nervously. Gabriella gasped,

"She doesn't know! Troy! But surely she must have seen it this morning?"

Troy cleared his throat, "She may or may not think that I accidently fell and hit my head on a bed post."

Gabriella glared at him, completely speechless.

"I promise next time I'll ice it." Troy tried to stick up for himself.

"I don't want there to ever be a next time."

--

"So dude, are you ever going to tell us what actually happened?" Chad asked as he walked with Troy, Zeke and Jason to lunch after their practice. Troy sighed; the topic of the day had come up again. He figured his best friends deserved to know the truth.

"You really want to know?"

"Yes!" Chad answered quickly.

"Fine. I was out for a run last night and I wasn't really paying attention to where I was running because I was thinking about stuff. Anyway, before I knew it I was near Borders and that Ice Cream Store and um, that other place, but you know the place I'm talking about right?"

His friends nodded and eyed him to continue.

"Oh this is at about 10 o'clock at night, by the way," he added.

"Why were you running at 10 o'clock?" Jason asked.

"I felt like a run," Troy shrugged.

"But couldn't you have just run around the house and called it a night?" Jason pressed. Troy rolled his eyes,

"It doesn't really matter why I was running, that's not the point of the story. The point of the story is what happened while I was running. So, like I was saying I was near Borders, the ice cream place and that coffee shop, I think it's called Small World Coffee or something. Anyway so I was running past there and all of a sudden I see James and a few of his friends walk behind the building."

"What the hell were they doing on our side?" Chad interjected.

"That's exactly what I thought. So, I carefully followed them around the building. I leaned against the wall while they were talking around the corner and started listening to their conversation. At first they were talking about the Championship game tomorrow but then after a few minutes James asked about Gabriella. Max, you know number 29, started talking about how he had just talked to her a few hours ago. Then the whole group of them was talking about her schedule, her favorite things to do. It was so creepy. They've been following her for God knows how long."

"How did they do that?" Zeke wondered aloud.

Troy shook his head, "I don't know, but damn it they've been following her. What if something happens to her? What if something had happened to her?" he questioned, exasperatedly.

"Look at it this way, nothing has happened to Gabi. She will be ok," Zeke tried to assure Troy. "We will all look after her Troy."

Troy sighed, "I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her because of me."

"Nothing is going to happen to her." Chad promised.

"Wait, do they _know_?" Zeke asked.

Troy shook his head, "I don't know." His voice was quiet, "They heard me before I found that out."

The group fell silent as the other three figured out what Troy meant.

"Why aren't you telling Gabi?" Chad asked after a few moments of silence. Troy paused for a few seconds,

"You know what this would do to her. She would be scared out of her mind for not only herself but for Lucas and Lily," Troy explained. "I can't do that to her."

Troy only had time to take a slight intake of breath before and familiar happy voice caught his attention. He stopped in his tracks as Gabriella approached him.

"Do what to whom?" Gabriella asked curiously. Troy's hand reached up to the back of his neck, scratching it nervously. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head, piecing together his nervousness and the discussion they had had earlier that morning, as he tried to figure out what to say.

"You can't do that to me, as in tell me. Right?" her voice had turned from bubbly to dejected and disappointed. Troy sighed,

"I just don't want you to worry."

Taylor, who had been walking with Gabriella, sensed that Gabriella and Troy needed to be alone for a while.

"Come on boys, let's go to lunch," Taylor encouraged, looking sternly at Zeke, Chad and Jason. Zeke seemed to get Taylor's idea and nodded, while Chad and Jason looked confused. Taylor rolled her eyes and grabbed the two boys' arms, pulling them away from the couple. Jason and Chad protested, of course, but Taylor continued to pull them along.

"Please don't shut me out Troy," Gabriella whispered. The two stared at each other in an intense, but soft eye lock.

Gabriella knew he was hiding something from her, he had practically told her. At first she'd been okay with it, because sometimes – she knew as well as anyone else – if a person didn't want to tell you something you shouldn't pry. However, now it was becoming a problem. She saw that it was eating Troy up inside and that hurt her. Though she was afraid of what the truth might be, she felt she needed to know more than anything right now.

"Please Troy, what happened?" Gabriella was the one who broke the silence, her voice seemingly begging.

Troy sighed, he knew he was going to have to tell her. The majority of him however, couldn't let himself tell her the entire truth. The words just wouldn't form in his mouth to tell she'd been being followed for the past, who knew how long. He decided to say as little as possible.

"West High," he said quietly.

"West High did this to you?"

Troy nodded, "The captain, James Scott and a few of his friends. They were on the East side and I saw them while I was out for a run."

"Why would they do that to you? Gabriella asked in disbelief. She couldn't get her head around the rivalry between to the two schools. Although all of her friends had tried to explain to her the rivalry, she just couldn't understand _why. _"And why didn't you leave them alone when you saw them? Troy you could have gotten seriously hurt." Gabriella's had changed from compassionate to almost angry.

Troy shook his head, "It's not like that. Listen, I know you don't get this whole rivalry thing and refuse to acknowledge its existence, but _it is real_. It's real to us and especially real to West High. I just need you to be careful tomorrow at the game."

"What do you mean be careful?" Gabriella wondered aloud.

"I mean, just watch out for the West High players. Just stay with the gang." Troy gently placed his hands on Gabriella's forearms as he saw a flash of fear in her eyes.

"You…you think they want to hurt me?" she stuttered quietly.

"Brie, I'm not going to let them hurt you," Troy assured her. He tried to sound confident for Gabriella, but he was trying to convince her as much as he was himself. He had no idea what West High had planned for them tomorrow night, but he hoped that his team could win the game and get out of there without anything happening to anyone.

--

There were 30 seconds left in the state championship game between East and West High. It had been a rough game, full of fouls and taunting. All the players were exhausted, but the exhilaration of the game kept them going.

Gabriella, along with Kelsi, Sharpay, Taylor, Ryan, Lucas and Lily sat in the third row of the bleachers on the East side, of course, on the edge of their seats.

Gabriella had never been more nervous for another person in her entire life. She knew how desperately the entire school wanted the team to win the game and she knew the pressure that put Troy under. Despite the pressure though, Troy was excited for the game and was ready to win.

With only 30 seconds left the Wildcats were down by one single point. West High was doing everything in their power to prevent East High from gaining control of the ball.

Finally, Jason managed to steal the ball away with only 20 seconds left on the clock. He dribbled down the court, with 3 Knights hot in his trail. Quickly, he passed the ball to Zeke, just before a West High player could steal the ball. Zeke agilely wove through the angry Knights coming at him and quickly passed to Troy, who was on the 3 point line. Troy desperately tried to find an opening to shoot from the line. Unable to, he tossed the ball back down the court to Chad, hoping his teammate would have better luck.

With only 10 seconds left Chad dribbled back to the 3 point line, but like Troy he was surrounded by West High players. Out of corner of his eye, Chad noticed Troy slightly down the court in position to score a two pointer, completely open. Thinking quickly, Chad faked right and then hurled the ball at Troy.

Troy caught the ball easily the ball with less than 5 seconds left on the clock. What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion for the entire gym. Troy raised his arms to make the shot and just as the ball was about to leave his hands, out of nowhere James Scott rammed into him, knocking him to the ground, just as the ball left his hands.

There was a simultaneous gasp in the gym. Gabriella was on her feet in a matter of seconds, trying to see if Troy was ok.

Chad quickly jogged over to his best friend to help him up. Troy groaned as he lay on his back on the floor. He opened his eyes to see Chad standing over him. Chad held out his hand for Troy to take. Grasping Troy's hand firmly, Chad pulled the East High captain off the floor. He patted Troy on the game as Troy tried to gain his orientation back.

"You ok man?"

Troy nodded before he looked up into the East High stands. His eyes quickly found Gabriella's worried ones. With compassionate eyes Troy mouthed, 'I'm fine' to Gabriella. Before Gabriella could respond the sound of the referee's voice caught Troy's attention. He realized he hadn't even noticed the whistle blowing to call a foul. Glancing up at the clock Troy saw that there were exactly 2 seconds left of play. These two foul shots would make or break East High's chance at winning the Championship.

"14, are you ready to take your shots?" the ref asked.

"Let's do this," Troy said confidently. The referee handed Troy a basketball as he stepped up to the foul line. With his teammates on his left side and his enemies on his right side, Troy bounced the ball twice before he raised the ball and effortlessly shot the ball into the basket.

Troy grinned triumphantly and pumped his fist back as the gym erupted in cheers from the East side. The score was now tied, 68 to 68.

Another ball was handed to Troy for him to take his final shot with.

"You know Bolton your girlfriend is pretty hot," James' sick voice came from Troy's right. Troy pretended not to hear it as he stared down at the ball. "So, it was actually very enjoyable following her around."

Troy growled quietly. However because of James' close proximity he was able to hear Troy. James snickered in triumph,

"A little angry there Bolton?" James asked in a sickeningly sweet voice. "I bet your little girlfriend was unimpressed that you couldn't defend yourself. You wouldn't be able to defend her if her live depended on it, just like you won't be able to make this shot." He snickered.

Grimacing at James' cruel words, Troy quickly glanced up at Gabriella in the stands. He couldn't help but smile a little bit. She looked so anxious, despite the encouraging smile across her face. That was all the encouragement he needed to make this final shot. Turning his head back to the basket, Troy let a determined smile spread across his face. Raising the ball up, Troy turned his head to look at James,

"Watch me," Troy said before he turned back to the basket to make the final shot. The ball flew smoothly through the air, landing perfectly in the basket. Just a few seconds later the final whistle blew and the gym erupted into cheers again, this time louder than ever. Red and white confetti came showering down from above. Before he was swept away by his teammates Troy turned to James one last time,

"You go near Gabriella again Scott and I will destroy you. I promise you that."

James grumbled angrily. Unable to think of a clever come back, he stormed off through the crowd.

Troy was quickly lifted into the air by his teammates as teenagers and adults alike jumped up and down in the stands with excitement. Troy threw his head back and threw his arms in the air, letting out a scream of excitement. When the large trophy was passed to him he raised that above his head. The screams of excitement increased as East High celebrated.

Finally his teammates let him down and Troy passed the trophy to Chad, so he could relish in the moment as well. Making his way through the swarm of people was harder than it appeared. Every person he came across was cheering and congratulating him. He was looking for one very specific person though, who he couldn't see anywhere. Gabriella.

He made his way to the bleachers, which was where he'd seen her last. On his way there he came across Kelsi, who was gingerly trying to get through the crowd. Unlike Sharpay and Taylor she didn't shove people out her way to get to her boyfriend.

"Troy!" she cried in excitement, "Congratulations! You did a fantastic job!" She threw her arms around him.

"Thanks Kelsi. Listen have you seen Brie? I can't find her." Troy asked.

Kelsi shook her head, "Last I saw her she was with Lucas and Lily in the stands. She probably had the right idea staying back there for a bit. It's impossible to get through here."

Troy chuckled, "You know it's ok to push right?"

"Yeah, but sometimes I can't. I mean, I'm half the height of some of these people." Kelsi reminded him.

Troy smiled, "If you duck you might able to go under their arms," he suggested. Kelsi grinned,

"I'll try."

"Good luck."

Troy continued past the remaining people until he came to the edge of the bleachers. He furrowed his eyebrows; Gabriella was nowhere to be seen.

He jumped up onto the bleachers so he could get a bird's eye view of the mob of people surrounding the trophy. Scanning it quickly, he couldn't see Gabriella anywhere even though he was able to pick out everyone else in their gang. It wouldn't make sense anyway that Gabriella would go in the mob. He knew she didn't like large masses of people and she wouldn't want to take Lucas and Lily in there either.

Frowning, he looked around the rest of the gym. Where was she? It was then that he realized that all the West High supporters had cleared the gym, including the players.

"Shit" he muttered. His mind had immediately connected the two, a missing Gabriella and no James Scott in sight. For a moment he felt as if he was going to faint. He'd let it happen, he'd let James get her. But he was not about to let James get away with it.

Quickly, Troy scrambled down from the bleachers and ran out of the gymnasium. He looked around frantically, praying that each brunette he laid eyes on would be Gabriella. None of them were.

After he had searched the entire area outside of the gym with no sign of Gabriella, he massaged his forehead trying to figure out what to do next. All of a sudden a worried voice pulled him out of his thoughts,

"Troy?"

Troy looked up and saw Gabriella standing in front of him.

"Brie!" he exclaimed. Gabriella threw her arms around Troy, who breathed a sigh of relief as he hugged her tightly.

"Congratulations! You were amazing wildcat! I was so nervous for you, but you were fantastic! I knew you would be able to do it! And when James Scott knocked you over that time I thought I was going to faint!" Gabriella rambled excitedly, "Oh my goodness I still don't know how you did it. I mean you had the entire pressure of the game on you and you managed to shoot those free throws effortlessly!"

Troy smiled lovingly, cupping Gabriella's cheek with his hand and gazing into her eyes. He was so thankful she was alright. He never wanted to feel the fear he had just felt ever again.

Gabriella cocked her head to the side as she watched Troy stare at her, "What?" she asked softly.

"You were the one person I wanted to see after the game and I couldn't find you. I was worried." Troy confessed.

Gabriella smiled softly. "I'm sorry about that. I think Lucas ate something bad, he was complaining his stomach hurt and he said he felt like he was going to throw up just after the game finished," Gabriella explained. "Which reminds me, I need to go find him; he's in the bathroom."

"Want me to go check on him?" Troy offered.

"That'd be great."

"Where's Lily?" Tory asked as Gabriella and he started to walk the short distance to the bathrooms.

"Oh, she had to use the bathroom as well." Gabriella explained. When they arrived at the bathrooms just as Troy went into the men's room, Lily came out of the ladies' room. A few moments later Troy and a pale looking Lucas came out of the men's room.

20 minutes later, after a short drive, Troy, Gabriella, Lucas and Lily were back at the apartment. Since it was late, the twins went to bed. Gabriella decided that since Lucas was obviously ill, Lily would sleep with Gabriella that night, so she didn't get sick as well. After making sure that both Lucas and Lily were properly in their beds, she turned out the lights and went back into the living room to find Troy on the couch

"So what's the verdict?" Troy asked.

"I think Luca has a bug, because he has a fever as well. He confessed to feeling uneasy the entire game, but he said he didn't want to leave in the middle of it. I think he'll be better by Sunday," Gabriella explained.

"And Lily?"

"She's fine. I put her in my bed, so she hopefully she won't get sick as well."

"Good plan." Gabriella nodded.

The pair fell into a comfortable silence while Gabriella went to get a drink of water. It was only then that she noticed Troy was still in his basketball uniform.

"Oh God! I've stolen the basketball captain of the state champions. The entire team must be wondering where you are. And your dad! Oh, don't even get me started!" Gabriella exclaimed. Troy couldn't help but chuckle,

"Brie, don't worry about it. They'll be wrapped up in their celebrations for a while. They probably haven't even noticed I'm missing."

"Are you kidding? The entire school has been buzzing about this game for weeks and you just won it. They'll want to congratulate you." Gabriella pointed out, "And isn't there some after party tonight? You should go."

"Nahh, the after party is always lame," Troy shook his head, "I'd rather stay here with you." By this time Troy had come up behind Gabriella and wrapped his arms around her.

"Troy Bolton you have talking about this party all week with Chad. I know you want to go," Gabriella said.

Troy groaned.

"I want you to go to the party. I'm going to go to bed anyway. Besides you definitely need a shower," Gabriella giggled.

"Fine," Troy grumbled. "I'll go only because _you _want me to."

"Thank you" Gabriella whispered, leaning up to kiss his cheek. She turned around in his arms so she could kiss him on the lips. She let one her hands play with his hair as she kissed him passionately. Each kiss was long and soft, but had a fire behind it that made it passionate. Gabriella pulled away gently, placing one last sweet kiss on his lips.

Troy grinned,

"Last chance for me to stay," he said hopefully.

Gabriella smiled and shook her head, "Go to the party Troy and enjoy yourself."

"Fine." Troy kissed her forehead once, "I love you."

"I love you too" Gabriella murmured.

"See you soon."

Gabriella nodded before she shut the door behind Troy. She locked the door behind him, in preparation for the night. Walking into the kitchen Gabriella started cleaning up the dishes that had been dirtied that day. She hummed quietly to herself as she washed some plates from dinner.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. She rolled her eyes, figuring it was Troy. Part of her was annoyed that he'd come back after she'd told him to go to the party, but more of her and happy he'd come back. She hadn't wanted him to go, but she knew that he would be missing out if he didn't go.

She unlocked the door and pulled it open,

"Troy, I told you not to-" Gabriella stopped mid sentence, fear filling her eyes. Her heart stopped. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She couldn't say anything. She didn't know what to do. She was paralyzed.

"Hello Gabriella."

It was definitely not Troy at the door.

* * *

**A/N: Now there's a cliffhanger for you. I hope you enjoyed it despite the fact that I have a feeling most of you are going to want to kill me. Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	20. The Aftermath

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Beware, this chapter is mainly angst. Enjoy…**

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_Last Time…_

_A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. She rolled her eyes, figuring it was Troy. Part of her was annoyed that he'd come back after she'd told him to go to the party, but more of her and happy he'd come back. She hadn't wanted him to go, but she knew that he would be missing out if he didn't go. _

_She unlocked the door and pulled it open, _

"_Troy, I told you not to-" Gabriella stopped mid sentence, fear filling her eyes. Her heart stopped. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She couldn't say anything. She didn't know what to do. She was paralyzed. _

"_Hello Gabriella." _

_It was definitely not Troy at the door. _

Chapter Twenty – The Aftermath

Troy groaned and clamped his eyes shut as the bright sunlight shone in through his window. Rolling onto his back Troy thought back to the day after East High had won the Championship game last year.

Last year they'd won by a landslide and Troy remembered feeling on top of the world afterwards. He remembered thinking that he would never be happier than that one moment in which the final buzzer had sounded, meaning East High had won the game. In that moment he felt like all his dreams had come true and if he had died at that very moment, he would have been ok with it because he would have experienced everything he had needed to.

How naïve he had been.

Yes, Troy still felt on top of the world after this year's championship game, but he certainly would not be ok if his life ended today. He was excited to see Gabriella today, as he was every day. Simply seeing Gabriella brought him happiness that winning a Championship game couldn't even compare. She'd opened up a whole new world of feelings, of possibilities and he never wanted it to end.

--

An hour later Troy was walking down the hall of Gabriella's apartment. It was almost 1:30 in the afternoon, so Troy figured Gabriella would be back from the diner by now.

Arriving at 3B he knocked on the door and waited for Gabriella to answer it. After about a minute with no answer, Troy knocked again. There was still no answer. Troy knocked a third time and this time called out,

"Brie. Brie, it's me, Troy."

When there was no answer yet again, Troy rested his hand on the door handle, so he could press his ear against the door to try and listen for any noise. It was silent.

As Troy pulled his ear way from the door he almost lost his balance because the accidently pushed down on the door handle, which caused the door to open slightly. Troy regained his balance quickly but was nevertheless still startled. Confused as to why the door was open, Troy pushed it open a little further.

"Gabriella?" he called out wearily. Nervousness was evident in his voice.

Troy slowly stepped through the threshold and shut the door carefully behind him.

"Lucas? Lily? Is anyone home?"

He felt his heart beat faster with each extra second he was forced to wait for a response. After what seemed like eternity, Troy admitted to himself that no one was home.

Now the question was where were they? He knew Gabriella wasn't working. She finished up at the diner at around 11 on Saturdays and it was almost 1:30 now. Maybe they were out. Troy nodded, yeah they were probably out.

Pulling out his cell phone, Troy dialed Gabriella's number.

_Hi, you've reached Gabriella. I'm sorry I can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave me a message I'll get back to you. Bye. _

"Hi Brie, it's Troy. I'm just wondering where you are. Call me when you get this. Thanks."

Troy shut his phone, squeezing it tightly in his hand as he exhaled. Now he was kind of freaked out. The door had been unlocked, no one was home and Gabriella's phone was _off_. Gabriella never turned her phone off. She didn't always pick it up, but she never turned it off.

As he walked a little further into the apartment he noticed it was in pristine condition. There was absolutely nothing visible in the kitchen, and the family room was spotless as well. Now, Gabriella was neat, but she wasn't _this_ neat. Usually there were a few cups sitting the sink and some snacks on the counter. Normally games were spread around the family room and there were always books sitting on the end tables and under the coffee table. Right now there were no books that Troy could see.

He walked slowly towards the short hallway that led to the bedrooms. As he approached the small wooden table at the beginning of the hallway he noticed something on it other than the potted flower.

A book with a piece of paper folded on top sat right next to the flower.

Curiously, Troy peered down at the note. There was only one word written on the outside,

_Troy_

Troy's breathing hitched and his heart rate sped up. It was written in Gabriella's flawless handwriting.

Carefully, he picked up the folded paper and opened it slowly. Taking a deep breath Troy read the short note.

_1/16_

_Dear Troy, _

_I'm sorry it had to End this way, but I had to go Home. I'm ok, so Please don't worry about me. I Love you._

_~Gabriella_

Troy stumbled backwards, unable to comprehend what the note meant. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he didn't know what to do. His breathing became erratic as he read the note over and over, trying to wrap his brain around the meaning.

Shoving the note into his pocket he ran into the front bedroom, Gabriella's bedroom. He looked through the bedroom frantically, trying to find something, anything, but there was absolutely nothing left, not even a text book.

Bolting back out of the Gabriella's room Troy soon found himself in Lucas and Lily's room searching for any sign that the note wasn't right, that he hadn't read it correctly, but there was nothing their room either.

He staggered back out of Lucas and Lily's room until he hit the wall opposite the doorway. He slid down the wall, placing his head between his knees.

It was true. Gabriella had packed her things and left. She had disappeared without warning. She was gone.

Troy felt his heart breaking. He loved Gabriella. He needed her. What was he supposed to do now? Pretend that she'd never existed? That he hadn't fallen completely and totally in love with her? Was he supposed to go back to his old life, where he hadn't known what love felt like?

He couldn't possibly do that. After experiencing a love so strong with Gabriella he couldn't go back to living the way he had before. He hadn't been living life with all life's wonderful emotions, so now that he'd experienced them how could he go back to living half way.

Troy needed Gabriella now. She had become his everything. It wasn't possible to forget she had existed because she had changed every aspect of his life. His world had begun to revolve around her. She had become a part of him. Losing her meant he was losing a part of himself.

His head fell back, gently hitting the wall behind him.

His heart ached, it hurt so badly. It was like someone had stabbed it with a knife then that person had twisted the knife around, creating a hole. A hole that Gabriella used to fill. With each moment that passed he could feel the hole getting larger. He was sure his heart was going to fall to pieces soon.

Troy was filled with so many different emotions that he wasn't sure how to sort them all out.

He was confused. He didn't know what he had done wrong. What had he done to drive her away? What more could he have given her? He had given her everything, every part of him. What had he done to deserve this kind of pain from her?

He felt betrayed. He had given her his heart and she had stomped on it. He had trusted her and she had run away from him.

He felt anger. How could she have done this to him? How dare she leave him with no explanation? Gabriella knew how much she meant to him. So how could she leave, knowing how much pain it would cause him?

He was hurt. His heart was breaking. He felt a harsh pain, far worse than any injury he'd ever received. An injury hurt for a few days, a few weeks at most, but this pain in his heart felt like it would never go away, like he could never be fixed.

He felt despair. As the pain ran through his blood there was a sadness that went a long with it. He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that he may never see Gabriella again. That truly was what depressed him the most, the thought that he may never be able to hold her again. Never be able to kiss her again, to hear her laugh, to see her smile. Those thoughts were what made him crumble.

Troy's whole body began to shake and his face twitched as he tried to hold himself together. The pain and despair was becoming too much, he needed a release. He felt hot tears roll down his face and tried to stop them from coming by closing his eyes tightly and letting his chin drop.

It was then that Troy realized he wasn't breathing. He'd been so consumed in his thoughts, he'd forgotten to breathe. He inhaled deeply, but when he exhaled his breath was shaking. He clamped his lips shut again, trying desperately to hold himself together.

He opened his eyes again and looked up the ceiling. He couldn't hold himself together any longer. He was breaking.

The tears began to fall freely from his eyes, seemingly unstoppable. His lips trembled and soon it was too much, he uncontrollably let out a loud sob, gasping for air, for comfort, for anything but this pain he was feeling. His hand grasped his shirt, balling it up in his hand as his body racked with painful sobs. He needed something to hold on to, something to attempt to hold himself together.

How could he have been so happy this morning and now be sitting in Gabriella's apartment with his heart wrenching sobs filling the room?

It had taken Troy and Gabriella months to build their relationship, to fall deeper and deeper in love with each other. But it had only taken a few seconds and exactly fourteen words to bring Troy's world crashing down on him.

"_I'm sorry it had to end this way, but I had to go home."_

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**A/N: I know this chapter wasn't as long as my chapters usually are, but this chapter needed to be about Troy and only Troy. I hope it turned out ok. Thank you for reading please review!**


	21. Anger

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Thank you again for all the reviews! Enjoy…**

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_Last Time…_

_The tears began to fall freely from his eyes, seemingly unstoppable. His lips trembled and soon it was too much, he uncontrollably let out a loud sob, gasping for air, for comfort, for anything but this pain he was feeling. His hand grasped his shirt, balling it up in his hand as his body racked with painful sobs. He needed something to hold on to, something to attempt to hold himself together. _

_How could he have been so happy this morning and now be sitting in Gabriella's apartment with his heart wrenching sobs filling the room? _

_It had taken Troy and Gabriella months to build their relationship, to fall deeper and deeper in love with each other. But it had only taken a few seconds and exactly fourteen words to bring Troy's world crashing down on him. _

"_I'm sorry it had to end this way, but I had to go home."_

Chapter Twenty One – Anger

"_Ms. Montez, homework is not allowed up here." Troy reminded his girlfriend, when he found her scribbling in her notebook, with a textbook open beside it. She looked up at Troy looking slightly flustered. _

"_But! But!" she protested, "Technically, this isn't even homework. I'm studying." Gabriella smiled innocently. Troy rolled his eyes and shook his head as he walked over to her._

"_It's all the same thing Brie. The rooftop is strictly for relaxing," Troy explained to her, "and don't even say studying is relaxing to you," he interjected before Gabriela could object. _

_He slid onto the bench next to Gabriella, and reached around her so he could shut her text book. Gabriella sighed and put her book, notebook and pen away. _

"_If I fail that test, it's on your conscience," Gabriella informed him. _

"_Fine, but I have complete confidence that you will not fail that test," Troy responded. _

"_I wish I had that kind of confidence," Gabriella mumbled glumly. Troy looked down at Gabriella unhappily, he didn't like watching her this stressed out. Thinking of an idea, he stood up and held out his hand. _

"_Come on, get up," Troy encouraged. Gabriella made a confused face, but took his hand and stood up. _

"_What are you doing?" she asked. _

"_We," Troy began, "are going to dance." _

_Gabriella let out a laugh, "What? Troy, there's not even any music."_

"_Ahhh au contraire my love," he smirked. Troy pulled out his ipod and walked behind a large potted plant. Suddenly, the introduction to "Hot Blooded" began playing. Troy reappeared from behind the plant, already dancing to the beat of the music. "I know you like doing this Brie," he reminded her, taking her hand in his. Gabriella laughed, but nevertheless began to move to the music. _

_Gabriella sang along with Troy as she bounced her hips from side to side to the rhythm of the song. Troy pretended to play the guitar while Gabriella pretended to play the drums. They both used their fists as microphones and sang the chorus to each other , getting closer as the song progressed. _

_Troy was jumping, still playing his 'guitar' while Gabriella let her hair run wild as she air-banged her head to the music. _

_Soon, Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand again so he could twirl her around, while they both bounced up and down. _

_The music began to fade and Troy pulled Gabriella close to him. They were both out of breath from jumping around and singing at the top of their lungs, but Troy grinned down at Gabriella, who was smiling brightly back at him. _

_Suddenly, the bell rang loudly. Instead of pulling Troy down the stairs with her, Gabriella simply started to fade in Troy's arms. She started to disappear through his fingers. He tried frantically to grab her, but his fingers went straight through her. _

_The bell rang again and Gabriella started to disappear more. _

"_Brie!" Troy called out, trying to get her to stay. "Don't leave Brie!" _

_The loud bell rang a third time, this time seemingly louder than the first two. Why did the school bell keep ringing? What was going on here? By this time Gabriella had completely disappeared. _

"_Brie, where are you!"_

_The bell rang continuously now as Troy ran frantically around the roof top looking for Gabriella. _

Beep Beep Beep Beep

Troy groaned as he slammed his hand down on his alarm. He rolled over and opened his eyes. He smiled as his eyes landed on the picture of Gabriella and him which sat of his bedside table. Troy was about to get out of bed when the realization hit him like a ton of angry bricks; Gabriella was gone and it was Monday.

He had absolutely no desire to get out of bed, no will. He rolled back over and pulled the covers back over his head.

--

Troy walked through the empty halls of East High. He was late, but truthfully he really didn't care. His mother had come pounding on his door about half an hour after he'd shut off his alarm, yelling at him to get up. Lethargically, he'd gotten ready and here was now, walking miserably through the hallways.

He opened the door to homeroom and stepped inside, 15 minutes late.

"Ah, Mr. Bolton, how kind of you to grace us with your presence," Ms. Darbus greeted. "However winning front to front Championship games, does not give you the right to be late. I'll see you in detention afterschool today."

Troy sighed, but nodded and slumped to his seat in the front row. He glanced towards Gabriella's seat, in hopes that maybe, just maybe, she'd be sitting in her seat. But she wasn't, it was empty and haunting him.

Kelsi furrowed her eyebrows as she watched Troy. There was something wrong, something very wrong. He should be on top of the world with excitement. The entire school was buzzing about the game and they hadn't even played in it. So, naturally the captain of the team should be absolutely elated, but Troy looked like the polar opposite of that. He looked devastated and angry. He'd come into class seemingly indifferent to what went on in the world around him.

Ms. Darbus had a meeting that morning that she had to leave for five minutes before the class ended. So, for once Ms. Darbus stopped talking before the class actually ended and left her class to their own devices. And for once, Troy wished she hadn't left. He would no longer have something to concentrate on, something to draw his attention away from the haunting desk and from the pain and anger he felt.

"Dude!" Chad exclaimed. "Where have you been all weekend? I tried calling you a hundred times, but you never picked up."

"I was distracted, I guess," Troy said solemnly. Chad was confused, what did Troy have to be distracted about?

"Distracted," Chad snorted, "We won the Championships dude, that's pretty clear to me."

Troy sighed, "It's complicated."

Kelsi looked worriedly at Zeke, who also seemed to notice a difference in Troy's behavior.

Just then, Taylor practically slammed her hands down on Troy's desk,

"Troy! Do you know where Gabriella is? I've been trying to contact her all weekend and I haven't heard a word from her. She and I have this _huge_ chemistry lab due today and she promised me we could review it together!" Taylor exasperated.

Troy's face froze, it turned to icy stone. His stare became cold and hard as Taylor looked expectantly and impatiently at him.

Kelsi's concern only grew as she watched Troy's expression. It seemed as though Gabriella had something to do with his hard gaze, but that didn't make any sense. How could Troy possibly be mad at Gabriella?

"No," Troy answered curtly.

"What do you mean no? You always know where she is." Taylor's snippy response, which had been brought on most likely due to the sheer magnitude of the lab that was due in just a few periods, only fueled Troy's anger.

"Sometimes people surprise you," he muttered disdainfully. By this time most of the gang had figured out that something was wrong with Troy. Their basketball captain was not acting like himself. He wasn't laughing and joking, like he did every morning.

"That's it! What the hell is up with you?" Sharpay demanded, throwing her arms into the air.

"We just won the state championships man, for the_ second _year and you're acting like someone died."

'_It feels like that' _Troy thought. It would be impossible to tell his friends what had happened, what he knew. He could barely wrap his own head around the fact; there was no way he could tell his friends. But he had no choice because his friends were _her _friends too. They needed to know. Troy took a deep breath before he whispered,

"Gabriella left."

"Like on vacation?"

"No, she left. For good." Troy answered dryly.

A gasp radiated through the gang. Each member trying to process the information Troy had just relayed to them.

"What?" Sharpay exhaled. "Why?"

"I don't know. She just left without any explanation. She's gone. That's it. End of story." Troy's voice had risen considerably, the anger in him finally taking control of the depression.

He'd spent all of Saturday and Sunday being upset and miserable, but now he was just angry. He was furious at Gabriella for doing this to him. She had been such a hypocrite. She had been afraid he would leave her or break her heart, but she'd turned around and left _him_ and broken _his_ heart.

How dare she? She had given him no explanation, no warning, no nothing. He had given her everything he had and this was how she repaid him?

"Wait, but Troy, that doesn't…that doesn't even make sense," Taylor managed to get out. "Gabriella wouldn't do that."

Troy couldn't help but laugh, "Well she did."

"At least think about it Troy. Why would she leave? It makes no sense," Zeke tried to reason with Troy.

"Damn it!" Troy's fist collided with his desk top, "I don't know why she left, but she did and without any fricken explanation. She obviously felt like we didn't deserve one." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the note, the one Gabriella's had left him. "This is the note she left. This and a random book were all she left," he muttered disdainfully. Without another word, he pushed back his chair angrily, so he could stand up and storm out of the classroom.

Kelsi reached out to grab the note and read the note quickly. She shook her head softly, disbelievingly, as her hand covered her mouth in shock. She read the note aloud to her friends in a hushed tone.

For once, the entire group was speechless as they all took in the news. Even if a member of the gang had wanted to speak, no words would have come to their mouth. The words seemed to slip from each of their brains as they sat unable to fathom the news properly.

The piercing bell rang through their ears and each person got up slowly, moving sluggishly out of the classroom. Taylor stayed seated though, staring straight ahead. This made no sense. No sense whatsoever.

Taylor McKessie had a strong intuition about people. She read people like a children's book and Gabriella was no exception. Gabriella wasn't the type of person who hurt people. Taylor knew Gabriella cherished her friends in Albuquerque and she certainly loved Troy. There was no way she would hurt them intentionally. Gabriella wasn't the type of person to leave without any explanation. Though she was a private person, she was not one to leave loose ends for those she cared about.

Taylor sighed, there was something else going on, something bigger and she needed to figure it out.

--

Taylor practically ran to the lunch room after her chemistry class. She'd been staring at the note all period and with 15 dreadful minutes of the class left she'd noticed something that almost made her shriek. She wasn't sure whether to shriek with happiness or fear though. She'd been right, but in some ways she wished she had been wrong.

She rapidly approached her lunch table only to find a silent group of friends, with solemn looks drawn across their faces. She slammed the books in her arms down on the table, causing half of her friends to jump.

"Guys! Gabriella didn't leave!" She exclaimed. The entire gang looked up at her, some with somber eyes and others with angry ones.

Kelsi shook her head, "Taylor, don't do this. You saw the note, you _have_ the note. She left," she said quietly.

"No, you don't understand," Taylor protested.

"No, we understand. It's you who can't understand," Troy interrupted. "She left us Taylor. How many times are you going to make me say it? She was cruel and heartless and she left us." Troy's voice was bitter and harsh.

"You're going to regret that last statement Troy Bolton," Taylor warned.

"Excuse me?" Troy was slightly taken back at Taylor's tone.

"Are you really that stupid?" Taylor asked slowly, "Do you seriously believe Gabriella would just leave?" She was addressing the entire table now, "How can you guys doubt her like this? This is _Gabriella Montez_ we're talking about. She loved it here. She treasured us and she _loved_ _you_ Troy, she really did and still does," her voice softened.

Taylor pulled Gabriella's note out of her pocket, "Look at the note again," she suggested, pushing the note towards the center of the table.

"I've memorized this note Taylor, I don't need to read it again," Troy whispered.

"But have you looked at it? Have you really looked at all the details?"

The gang seemed intrigued by Taylor's challenge, so they all leaned closer to examine the paper. Taylor watched everyone's face carefully, waiting for them to figure it out. Kelsi's eyes lit up first,

"Oh my god," her voice was slow and quiet. She looked up at Taylor for confirmation. Taylor nodded. Kelsi's hand wacked her forehead, "How did I miss that?"

Zeke and Ryan figured out the puzzle seemingly at the same time, but neither boy said anything, they just placed a hand on their foreheads.

Sharpay was becoming impatient because she couldn't see anything special about the note,

"What is it?" she demanded to know. Taylor leaned over the table and used to finger to point to four words.

"Look at 'end' , 'home' , 'please' and 'love'," she instructed. "What's special about those words?"

Jason, Chad, Troy and Sharpay stared blankly at Taylor, they had no idea. Taylor pointed the first letter of each word,

"Look the first letter of each word is capitalized."

"So? There are other words capitalized too," Chad shrugged.

Taylor sighed, "But those words should be capitalized. These words are capitalized incorrectly. Gabriella is the grammar queen; she wouldn't make a mistake like this. What do those letters spell?"

"eeehuhpl?" Jason tried to sound out the word.

Sharpay slapped his forearm, "It spells 'help' Jason. Help, as in Gabriella needs us. She didn't leave on her own accord, someone forced her and we've been sitting here thinking she was bitch for leaving us. God, how could we be so blind."

The entire table silenced as Sharpay's words hit the gang. The air was no longer tense and angry, but miserable and scared.

Troy was still angry. He wasn't angry at Gabriella though. He was furious with himself, disgusted even. How could he even have doubted Gabriella for a second? He was such an ass. He was ashamed that he had even felt that way about Gabriella, even while she was absent. He hated himself. He was supposed to love Gabriella, to trust her. Why hadn't he seen it? Why had he been so blind to what had been right in front of him?

He didn't deserve Gabriella. She'd left something for him to find and he'd missed it. He'd read the note thousands of times and each time been blind to the obvious clue. He'd hated Gabriella for days because he believed she'd left him. She was so much better than he was.

It was his fault anyway, he'd left that night, he'd gone to a party. It made him sick to think about the fact that Gabriella was being taken while he'd been chatting up a storm at some party. He should have stayed. He should have been stubborn. He should have been there to protect her. James was right; he hadn't been able to protect her. He'd failed in his promise. He'd let James get to her. He'd let James come and take Gabriella from right under his nose.

Troy's rage at himself was becoming too immense, he needed to channel it. Unfortunately the table felt his fury.

He pounded his fists on the table,

"I swear to God, I am going to kill James," he spat furiously. Even though he knew he didn't deserve Gabriella, he still loved her and wanted her to be safe again. Taylor shook her head,

"No Troy, it wasn't James. Look it says, 'I had to go home'. I think it was her dad."

The color from Troy's face drained. He felt like he was going to be sick. The fact that it was her father was possibly worse than it being James. He couldn't breathe. Memoires of Gabriella's painful account of her life with her father flashed through his mind. He remembered the pain he'd seen in her eyes, the pain he'd heard in her sobs as she'd recalled the horrific events.

Gabriella's _abusive _father had her and there was nothing Troy could do about it.

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**A/N: Ok, so how many of you are going back to check to see if the note was actually written like that? How many of you noticed? Props to you if you did. Most of you thought James was the one at the door, but a good few of you thought it was her dad. The gang seems to think it's her dad. Do you agree with the gang? Or do you have your own theory? You'll find out who has Gabriella in the next chapter! **

**I apologize for any horrible mistakes in this chapter. I read it over really quickly. I really wanted to get this up tonight, because I'm going to be busy all weekend.**

**Thanks for reading. Please review!**


	22. Departure

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Ok….so I was about half way through writing this chapter when I realized it wasn't working out. So, I deleted the entire thing and started over. This chapter is all about Gabriella, so we're going to travel back in time a little. This chapter will start just after Gabriella opened the door. Enjoy…**

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_Last Time…_

_A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. She rolled her eyes, figuring it was Troy. Part of her was annoyed that he'd come back after she'd told him to go to the party, but more of her and happy he'd come back. She hadn't wanted him to go, but she knew that he would be missing out if he didn't go. _

_She unlocked the door and pulled it open, _

"_Troy, I told you not to-" Gabriella stopped mid sentence, fear filling her eyes. Her heart stopped. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She couldn't say anything. She didn't know what to do. She was paralyzed. _

"_Hello Gabriella." _

_It was definitely not Troy at the door. _

Chapter Twenty Two – Departure 

Gabriella's first instinct was to slam the door in her father's face, so that's exactly what she proceed to do. However, her father's hand reached out to stop the door before Gabriella could shut it. She tried, desperately, to shut the door against her father's hand but he was much stronger than she and was easily able to keep the door exactly where he wanted.

Tomas Montez chuckled dryly as he pushed the door open, "Now sweetie, you wouldn't want to shut your old man out would you?"

Gabriella tried to push the door one last time with all her might, but her father simply pushed harder and before she knew what was happening, her father was standing in front of her in her apartment.

She took a step back, her body instinctively shaking with fear.

"What…what do you want?" she asked fearfully.

"I just came to find my children. I've missed you so much." He moved closer to Gabriella, trying to hug her. Gabriella put her hands up almost immediately and backed up.

"Don't touch me," Gabriella warned her voice slow and shaky. Her father's brown eyes narrowed as he took yet another step towards his daughter. Gabriella continued to back up until her back hit the wall. She gasped quietly from both shock and fear.

"What did you say?" he demanded in a way that almost gave her a chance to take back what she had said. Gabriella swallowed,

"I said," she paused, trying to regain her confidence, "don't touch me."

Gabriella whimpered as Tomas slapped her across the face.

"Bitch! You have no right to speak to your father like that. I'll do whatever I want." His voice was cold, hard and cruel. "How dare you leave me and take Lucas and Lily with you!" He was angry now. Gabriella closed her eyes, terrified he would strike her again. "Now, are you going to come quietly or do I have to make this miserable for you?"

Gabriella felt a single tear fall from her eye as she nodded her head slowly.

"That's what I thought. Pack up everything and I'm taking you way back home. Don't you even _think _about making any phone calls," Tomas instructed sternly. "I'll give you, oh about half an hour. Go." He took a step back, so Gabriella could go into the bedrooms to pack their belongings.

She passed Lucas and Lily's room and thought for just a moment about waking them up so they could help her, but quickly shook her head. They deserved just a little while longer of their sweet dreams. Gabriella made her way into her bedroom, stumbling through the doorway. She pulled her suitcase from the top shelf of her closet and dragged it to the bottom of the bed. She grabbed all the clothes from her closet in one sweep and fell to her knees as she pulled the hangers off so she could fold the clothes into the suitcase.

As she folded a sob escaped her mouth. She couldn't believe this was happening. How had he found them? She thought she had been careful in covering her tracks. She'd erased all the history on her computer, she'd taken the map with her. What had she done wrong? How could she have failed? And now what? She couldn't go back to the life she had previously known. She couldn't let Lucas and Lily go back there either. Another sob fell through her lips as she thought about the horrific repercussions of her father's return.

Gabriella dragged the suitcase over to her chest of drawers, so she could simply dump her things into the suitcase. Standing up was not going to be an option, she was far too overwhelmed for that. By the time all her clothing was in the suitcase it was full. She fumbled with the zipper, her shakiness making the usually simple task of shutting a suitcase extremely difficult.

Using the bed, Gabriella pulled herself up so she could grab another bag to fill with her more personal belongings. She started filling the bag with the contents from the top of her chest of drawers. She moved over to her bed and started grabbing things from her bedside table. She froze when her eyes landed on the picture on her bedside table. The picture of people who had become so very important to her: Taylor, Kelsi, Chad, Zeke, Sharpay, Jason, Ryan and most of all, Troy.

That was when she crumbled.

Yet another pain-filled sob radiated throughout the room as Gabriella pulled the treasured photograph close to her chest and fell back on her knees. What was this going to do to them? They would have no explanation for her sudden disappearance. How would they handle that? Surely they would hate her. Her head fell back, trying to stifle another heartbreaking cry as the horrid thoughts raced through her mind.

She shook her head. No. No, she couldn't let that happen. She couldn't do that to them. She just couldn't. But what was she going to do? There was no way she was getting out of here safely. There was no way she'd be able to leave them a note explaining the whole truth. She was stuck.

Gabriella tried desperately to think of what she should do, but there were too many thoughts racing through her brain, clouding her thinking process. Gently, she laid the frame in the bag, as her mind continued to try to clear her brain.

It wasn't working though. Her usual quick-thinking brain was coming up with nothing. Both her hands flew up to her heart as she felt her herself breaking further. It was then that her fingers touched the metal of Troy's ring. She squeezed it tightly, as if by some miracle it would make Tory appear in front of her. It wasn't quite able to do just that, but a sudden wave of calm fell over her. She seemed to forget all the awful that currently surrounded her and was able to think clearly.

If she couldn't leave a note that blatantly explained what happened, she would have to leave one that gave clues as to what had happened.

She quickly stood up, wiping the stream of tears from her eyes and glanced frantically around the room looking for something, anything to write on. She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from her backpack and quickly started to write. Troy would be the first one in her apartment, so she addressed it to him. She signed her name and folded it once, writing Troy's name on the outside. She placed the note and her favorite book on her suitcase so she wouldn't forget to place them before she left.

She quickly finished up packing her room and made her way, quietly, into Lucas and Lily's room. They were still sound asleep. She had to cover her mouth to prevent a painful whimper from escaping from her lips. In just a few minutes she would have to wake them up and tell them news she knew they never wanted to hear again.

Gabriella managed to pack up all their things without waking her beloved siblings. She dragged their suitcases out into the hallway where hers was. Grabbing the very last suitcase, she began to fill it with all their books and toys, while her father towered over her.

Gabriella watched, terrified, as he went over to inspect the suitcases she had already packed. She closed her eyes tightly when she saw him pick up the note she had written. She prayed he would allow it, that he wouldn't notice the hidden message she'd embedded in it. Her eyes shot open when her father's gruff voice demanded,

"What's this?"

Gabriella stood up very slowly her hands shaking. "It's…it's a note so…so people don't worry something has happened to me," she lied. She watched her father's face, hoping he would allow it, he had to. She hoped her lie was enough to convince him.

"That boy that left not too long ago, was that Troy?" he asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I suppose then it's best he know it's over. That is, if for some reason he cares about you." Tomas snickered at his last statement. "You have 5 minutes by the way. Where are Lucas and Lily?"

"I'll go get them," Gabriella whispered.

"Good, I'm going to start bringing this stuff to the car. I am warning you though, if I come back and you're not here, I will kill you." Gabriella's father's voice was dead serious. Gabriella felt tears run down her cheeks as she watched him leave. She grabbed the note and the book then placed them on a small wooden table with a potted flower on top.

She took a deep, shaky breath before she made her way into the twin's room. She fiercely fought back tears as she turned on the light. She had to be strong for them.

She shook Lucas first, "Lucas. Lucas you have to wake up." When Gabriella saw he was waking up she walked over to Lily's bed and shook her, "Lily. Lily you need to get up."

She backed away from their beds so she could wait for them to be fully awake before she explained what was happening. She figured it was better she tell them at the same time.

Lucas and Lily soon sat up in their beds, rubbing their eyes sleepily.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked groggily.

"Have you been crying Gabi?" Lily asked, confused. Gabriella looked up trying desperately not to break down again. She looked back at her brother and sister, who were looking at her with big, tired, confused eyes. Where was she even supposed to begin? She took a deep breath,

"He's back," She whispered.

"Who's back? Troy?" Lily asked.

Gabriella shook her head; oh she wished it was Troy who had come back.

"No, Daddy's back."

Gabriella watched as all color drained from her siblings' faces. She watched as pain and fear filled their eyes.

"He's taking us home," Gabriella whispered.

"No!" Lily shrieked jumping out of her bed. "No! How could you let this happen?" Lily ran towards Gabriella, anger filling her eyes. Gabriella caught Lily, before she tried to run out into the hall. Lily started hitting Gabriella absolutely distraught. Soon Lily's hateful words turned to sobs and her hitting slowed. Gabriella pulled Lily close, hugging her tightly.

"I didn't mean what I said. I'm just scared," Lily mumbled.

"I know. I know," Gabriella whispered.

By this time Lucas had gotten out of bed, tears filling his eyes as well. Gabriella pulled him into the hug.

"We're going to get through this," Gabriella promised.

--

It had been 3 days since Tomas Montez had invaded his children's blissful life, dragging them back home. It had taken over a full 24 hours of driving to reach home, so because of the need to rest, the Montez's had walked through their front door on Sunday.

Gabriella had tried to escape up to her room as soon as they'd gotten home, but she'd had no such luck. Her father had been furious with her for leaving him. After pushing her brother and sister up the stairs, Gabriella had received the worst beating she'd received to date. Her father had screamed at her, calling her cruel names. It had been then, as he yelled Gabriella had realized why there hadn't been this outburst when he'd first arrived. People would have heard. The apartments were too close, but here, in their house, no one could her Gabriella's whimpers or her father's angry yelling.

Gabriella was currently lying in her bed, in the dark, staring out her window at the bright moon. It was very late; almost 3 in the morning, but Gabriella couldn't sleep. The Advil she had taken just before going to bed was beginning to wear off. Her muscles were starting to ache again and the bruises on her back started to pang despite being rested on the soft mattress. She daren't move from her position in fear that another pain would shoot through her body.

The physical pain however couldn't even compare to the severity of the emotional pain she felt. She was broken. She had spent months healing, and it had taken only a few moments for her heart to shatter again.

She was so terrified. Her worst fear had come true – she was back at the mercy of her merciless father. Lucas and Lily had already come crying to her and she'd already been beaten more than once. Things had fallen back to, if not gotten worse than the way they had been before she'd run away.

In some ways it felt like her months in Albuquerque had been a dream. But they couldn't have been though; she had so many vivid memories and memorabilia from Albuquerque. Gabriella whimpered as she reached out to grab the framed picture of the gang from her bedside table. She propped it up on her stomach, so she could see the picture clearly.

It had been taken at Sharpay's Christmas party. The whole gang had been dancing when the picture had been snapped so no one was looking at the camera, but that was what Gabriella loved so much about it. She could see the pure joy on each person's face without it being covered by a plastered on smile. Yes, those photo's were nice, she had plenty of posed shots of her and her friends. However, there was just something about the fact that all the people had been completely in their element that made the picture so special to Gabriella.

God she missed her friends. She missed the feeling of going to bed, knowing that in the morning she'd wake up to friends she knew cared for her. She couldn't help but wonder what they were doing, how they were doing. She wondered what they were thinking, if they'd seen the clues.

She let out a sigh when she realized her eyes had been focused on one particular person: Troy. She missed him the most, easily. To be honest she wasn't sure how she had survived before she'd met him. She needed him now. She hoped the separation wouldn't last too long because truthfully she wasn't sure how long she could last without him. It sounded slightly silly when she thought about it rationally. A teenager couldn't _need_ another teenager, especially after only knowing the other teenager for 5 months. But it was true. She had grown so attached to Troy, so very in love with him. So much so that now she felt empty without him. He had become a part of her. She hadn't quite realized how serious their relationship was until she felt the pain of being away from her beloved.

She closed her eyes, trying to pretend that Troy was holding her, comforting her. She thought back to Sharpay's party, where she'd woken up in his warm, strong arms. She remembered opening her eyes that morning only to see Troy's sleeping face just above hers. She remembered feeling his chest rising and falling under her head and his strong arm wrapped around her, drawing her in closer. She remembered being slightly shocked at first, not remembering how she'd gotten into this position, but then she'd realized just how natural the position felt, how lovely it was. She remembered snuggling closer – if that was possible – and falling back asleep.

As she lay in her bed with her eyes closed, she could hear Troy's soothing voice lulling her to sleep. She could feel his gentle touch. She could see his face, smiling at her. Those three things were what enabled Gabriella to fall asleep that night because they provided with the only comfort she could get.

* * *

**A/N: I hope it didn't confuse you too much. Gabriella's all caught up time wise with Troy and gang. I think I might switch off chapters, one Gabriella and one Albuquerque. Or I could do half each. What do you think? Please review! Thank you for reading!**

**Happy Easter! I hope you all got lots of chocolate! :D**


	23. Lunch

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Ok, so pretty much all of you said you'd rather I split it. So, that's what I did. Just a quick side note though, how many of you saw 17 Again? How many of you loved it the way I did =D – that would be a lot just so you know. Enjoy…**

* * *

_Last Time…_

_She closed her eyes, trying to pretend that Troy was holding her, comforting her. She thought back to Sharpay's party, where she'd woken up in his warm, strong arms. She remembered opening her eyes that morning only to see Troy's sleeping face just above hers. She remembered feeling his chest rising and falling under her head and his strong arm wrapped around her, drawing her in closer. She remembered being slightly shocked at first, not remembering how she'd gotten into this position, but then she'd realized just how natural the position felt, how lovely it was. She remembered snuggling closer – if that was possible – and falling back asleep. _

_As she lay in her bed with her eyes closed, she could hear Troy's soothing voice lulling her to sleep. She could feel his gentle touch. She could see his face, smiling at her. Those three things were what enabled Gabriella to fall asleep that night because they provided with the only comfort she could get._

Chapter Twenty Three – Lunch

Troy didn't know how to deal with the pain he felt. He'd never had to deal with this kind of excruciating pain. Troy Bolton was used to feeling physical pain from injuries because of basketball. He was used to being able to go to the school trainer to get the pain fixed, to make it go away. But the pain he felt right now hurt so badly he didn't know what to do.

His heart just ached, it ached so badly. It felt like there was a hole, a hole that kept getting bigger each time he thought about Gabriella. There was this emptiness inside of him that could only be filled by Gabriella. His missed her so damn much it hurt every time he thought about her.

It would be totally different if he knew she was just on vacation or something. Obviously he'd still miss her, but he wouldn't be in immense pain every time he thought about her.

The difference now was that he didn't know when or if he'd ever see her again. That was what truly caused a pang in his heart, the fact that he may never see Gabriella again. Troy had come to the realization that he needed her. He hadn't realized just how much his day revolved around being with her. How much she had affected him and changed him. Living in a world without her was like hell.

A hell that he didn't know how much longer he could handle.

Troy felt so helpless. He knew Gabriella was hurting, which made him hurt, but what hurt more was the fact that there was nothing Troy could do to help her. He hated himself for letting this happen. He had promised Gabriella he wouldn't let her father hurt her again. For breaking that promise, he could never forgive himself. Gabriella didn't deserve someone like him. She deserved someone who could protect her properly. The problem was Troy couldn't imagine giving her up. He had fallen so deeply in love with her, it would be impossible for him not to be able to call her his. He was too selfish for that.

The loud school bell interrupted his thoughts and Troy realized he didn't have any idea what they had just learned. Truthfully he didn't really know what class he was in. He'd become a zombie since he had lost Gabriella, just floating through life.

He glanced around the classroom and quickly realized he had been in history. The classroom was mostly empty, so Troy hastily gathered his things and made his way out of the classroom.

When he tried to think about which class he had next, nothing seemed to come to mind – his mind was too consumed with thoughts of Gabriella. Somehow though, his feet knew where they were taking him and he ended up in the cafeteria. He was able to spot his lunch table pretty easily.

By the time Troy was sitting at the table most everyone was there except Jason, which was odd because Jason was usually the most eager of the group to get food.

Since Gabriella's kidnapping, the table had quieted considerably. The gang was still processing the news, so the usual playful atmosphere had been replaced with one that was dreary. Troy didn't really mind though. He didn't think he could deal with a table that was lively right now, not in the state he was currently in.

It was then that Jason finally appeared at the table, looking extremely angry.

"Urg! I can't believe Mrs. McMann!" Jason exclaimed.

"What did she do?" Kelsi asked. Jason exhaled loudly and began,

"Remember how I decided I was going for extra help yesterday afternoon?" the gang, who were all listening by this point, nodded, "Well, I went and she asked me what I needed help with. So I said everything and then she was like well I need more than that and she told me to come back when I had specific questions. So, I left and then just now, after math class she asked me if I had my questions. I told her that I didn't know what I needed help with, I just knew I needed help. Then she was all, Jason, I can't help you if I don't know what you need help with."

Kelsi sighed, she knew Mrs. McMann was right, but she really didn't want to upset her boyfriend. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending how you looked at it) Sharpay had no problem telling Jason was she thought.

"Jason, Mrs. McMann is right you can't just walk in there and expect her to know exactly what you're having trouble with and be able to fix it just like that."

"But isn't that her job?"Jason tried to defend himself.

"Dude, it's her job to teach you, not read your mind," Chad pointed out. Jason still frowned and looked hopefully towards his girlfriend.

"Sweetie, they're right," Kelsi began quietly. "Look at it this way, let's say you were coaching someone in basketball and one day they came to you and said, I need help. Then you would say, well what do you need help with, right?" Jason nodded. "So, then what would you say if that kid said, I don't know?"

Jason seemed to think for a moment, but finally he saw the point Kelsi was trying to make. He sighed,

"Ok, ok fine. I see now. I wouldn't know if they wanted help with blocking or free throws or three pointers. I wouldn't know where to begin."

Kelsi smiled and quickly kissed her boyfriend on the cheek, "Exactly.

"Wait a second," Troy muttered, furrowing his eyebrows, "it doesn't make sense."

"Are you kidding me Troy, how can you not get it? You don't call 911, say help and then hang up, now do you?" Taylor exclaimed. Little did Taylor know, however, that Troy's mind was in a completely different place.

"No! Not _that._ The note! It doesn't make sense," he exclaimed. The entire gang looked bewildered at Troy; every single person had no idea what he was talking about.

"Gabriella asked for help right?" he paused, waiting for his friends to nod. "So, she wouldn't just ask for help and then not tell us anything else. It's like the paramedic, you don't call for help and then not tell them were you are." To Troy, this was like the light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe there was something he could do. Maybe Gabriella had left something for him to grasp hold of.

"Of course! Why didn't we think of that sooner?" Sharpay said dramatically.

"Where's the note?" Troy asked. Taylor was already rummaging in her bag for the key item.

"Here it is!" she said, pulling it out. Laying it flat on the table so everyone could see she spoke, "Ok, look for anything weird, anything, I don't know, just anything."

The gang stared intently at the small piece of paper, scrutinizing it for any little clue, something, anything that was out of place.

"Home. Home, that has to mean something," Kelsi said, becoming the first to speak. "Why not just say where she was actually going?"

"She moved from Connecticut. So home has to be Connecticut," Zeke offered.

"But where in Connecticut?" Troy pointed out. The gang got quiet again, some stared at the paper, searching for something more, while others thought back to past conversations with Gabriella. Had she ever told them the town she'd lived in?

No.

That was conclusion Troy came to. He was going over all conversations in which Gabriella had talked about Connecticut. She had always just said Connecticut though. Always.

Just then, Sharpay's phone beeped loudly. She quickly pulled her bedazzled, pink blackberry out to answer the text message.

"Perfect," she murmured happily. Slipping her phone back into her bag, she refocused on the task at hand.

Taylor raised her eyebrow at Sharpay,

"What was that about?" she asked curiously.

Sharpay rolled her eyes, "If you must know it was my hairdresser. She was just confirming my appointment for this afternoon. See, I was going to get my hair highlighted on the 17th, but I'd scheduled it months in advance and didn't realize it was the same date as the game, so today was the next appointment she had open and can you-" Sharpay was cut off by Troy,

"Wait, the 17th? The 17th was the date on Friday?" Troy babbled, the gears in his mind turning.

"Yeah," Zeke confirmed, furrowing his eyebrows in slight confusion.

"So, then why does the date on the note say the 16th?" Troy asked.

Everyone simultaneously leaned closer to the note, checking to see if, in fact, what Troy had pointed out was true. The gang sat in silence as each person mulled over a possible answer.

"What if she just wrote it on the 16th?" Chad suggested.

"Chad has a point, we're assuming that she was taken on the Friday, but what if her dad showed up on the Thursday and just waited until Friday night to take her away," Taylor pointed out.

"But that doesn't make sense. Gabriella would have been acting weird all Thursday and Friday," Kelsi countered.

"And Brie, was just as," Troy paused, trying to think of the right word, "she was just as perfect as always," he finished softly, his voice cracking slightly in the process. The gang nodded solemnly, showing their agreement with Troy's opinion.

"So, if we're sure, or at least as sure as we can be that she was taken on Friday, why would she have put Thursday's date on the note?" Zeke thought out loud.

"Well, what if she just forgot the date?" Jason questioned.

Sharpay shook her head, "This is Gabriella we're talking about. She's the type of person who puts the correct year on the first day back, while I'm stuck putting the old year for the first two months back."

The mood lightened slightly as everyone let out a laugh, knowing what Sharpay said was precisely what Gabriella did. However, once they were all pulled sharply back down to earth, they realized the task at hand was still unsolved.

"What if something important happened on Thursday that she wants us to remember?" Troy suggested. The table went silent at that moment as each gang member tried replayed Thursday in their mind, scrutinizing every detail, but there was absolutely nothing that came to mind.

--

Gabriella sat in a small, dimply sit bathroom stall, on the toilet with her lunch on her lap. The girls' bathroom wasn't such a bad place to eat lunch, Gabriella supposed. It was quiet and secluded, a little dirty, but it wasn't too disgusting. The lunch room was loud; there was no quiet for Gabriella to think in. That's what she needed right now, quiet.

It was her first day at her new high school and she was already overwhelmed. If the stress of going to a different school wasn't enough, she was already terrorized by her father at home. She'd had to get back into the swing of covering up bruises in the morning and checking to make sure Lucas and Lily were ok before she went to bed.

Gabriella's father had already tightened the reins on his children. Internet access had been completely cut off in their house and cell phones were out of the question. Gabriella's phone had been taken from her even before she'd left Albuquerque. She had been driven to school that morning and was expected to be outside the school as soon as it ended for her father to pick her up.

She had slipped right back into the old ways. Gabriella did everything around the house. She cooked, cleaned and took care of Lucas and Lily. Truthfully though, doing all that didn't bother her so much – she was so used to caring for everything and everyone.

It was what came after her hard work that really frightened her. Even if she had done a flawless job cleaning and cooked a delicious dinner, she still was in for the beating of her life. He beat her for running away, for taking Lucas and Lily with her. He beat her because he still held her responsible for driving his wife away. He beat her just because he was angry.

She'd slipped right back into having fear be a constant in her life. She was afraid to go home from school, she was afraid to go to bed at night and she was afraid to get out of bed in the morning. She'd been back under her father's roof for 2 days and already the fear was back, stronger than ever.

In a way she kind of liked the bathroom, it was almost like a safe haven for her. There was no one watching her or judging her. She felt safe – or as safe as she could feel given the circumstances.

Gabriella only felt safe in the arms of her beloved – Troy. She felt safe in Albuquerque. She knew the people who had been surrounding her had been good, caring people. She had been away for less than 5 days and she already felt her heart crumbling without them.

She'd spent hours wondering if they'd figured out the clue. If they'd seen her cry for help or if they knew where she was. What if they hadn't seen anything at all though? What if her clues had been too cryptic? What if they hated her because they thought she left without any explanation? No, she couldn't bring herself to ever think that. The pain that associated itself with the thought of the gang – especially Troy – hating her was indescribable. It was by far worse than the physical pain she felt. Just thinking about it, made her heart break further. No, she couldn't bring herself to think that.

But then, if they had in fact found the clues, what were they even going to do about it? She hadn't really thought about what would happen after they figured out where she was. Gabriella let her head fall into her hands as she fought fiercely to keep the tears back. She let out a shaky breath. They lived across the country, what were they supposed to do? She was always trapped inside her house, under the watchful eye of her father. How were they going to get to her without him knowing? Maybe they would think of something, or at least that was all she could hope for.

Gabriella stood up with her unfinished food and unlocked the stall door. She threw out her food and walked straight towards the mirror, opposite her stall. Leaning on the sink, she closely examined her face. She had to look away from the broken girl who was staring back at her. Since Friday her entire life had fallen apart. Spending 6 months in Albuquerque was like fixing something with duct tape. If you rip off the duct tape said object falls apart. That is exactly what was happened to Gabriella. The old wounds had opened up again. Only the second time everything hurt more.

Slowly, she looked back up at herself. Her makeup hid the bruises pretty well, but no makeup could cover her broken, terrified eyes or her unreadable, depressed expression. She stared for a while, thinking about what Troy would think if he saw her now, what he would do. Her head fell in shame as she hiccupped back a sob.

She knew he would hold her, he would tell her it would alright. He would make it all away. But she couldn't believe that without him standing with her. She didn't know what would happen, what the future held for her or if she'd ever see Troy again. She did know however, that as long as she wasn't with Troy there would be a gaping, aching hole in her heart.

That was the thought that broke down the levies in her eyes she had worked so hard to keep strong all the time she'd been here. She gasped for air and immediately the tears poured from her eyes.

She cried because of her painful injuries.

She cried because she was afraid – for both herself and her siblings.

She cried because she didn't know what to do.

She cried because, most importantly, she missed Troy so much so that it was beginning to take its physical, mental and emotional toll on her.

That was another thing Gabriella liked about the girls' bathroom; she could cry without anyone watching.

* * *

**A/N: I know that was another depressing chapter, but on the slightly bright side in the next chapter Troy and the gang might (will) figure out where Gabriella is. Any guesses?? I have a specific town and state written down…it's actually right next to my computer. As of right now it's impossible for you to get exactly what I have written down (unless of course you can read my mind) because I haven't given you one tiny **_**very**_** important piece of information. HOWEVER you can figure out how to figure out where she is. I'm not sure if that makes sense…but it's the best I can do. Hopefully, you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you for reading! Please review!**


	24. Phone Call

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: I did not anticipate this chapter being so long, but what can I say the characters took control of me.**

* * *

_Last Time_

_That was the thought that broke down the levies in her eyes she had worked so hard to keep strong all the time she'd been here. She gasped for air and immediately the tears poured from her eyes. _

_She cried because of her painful injuries._

_She cried because she was afraid – for both herself and her siblings. _

_She cried because she didn't know what to do. _

_She cried because, most importantly, she missed Troy so much so that it was beginning to take its physical, mental and emotional toll on her. _

_That was another thing Gabriella liked about the girls' bathroom; she could cry without anyone watching. _

Chapter Twenty Four – Phone Call

"Ok, so anyone got any new theories today?" Troy asked hopefully as he sat down at the table. The gang shook their heads.

"I've been over every moment of Thursday man, I got nothing," Zeke sighed. Troy looked to the rest of his friends in hopes that one of them remembered something. Unfortunately all of their faces held the same disappointed expression. Putting his elbows on the table, Troy rubbed his forehead with his fingers. He had thought of nothing else but that Thursday for the past two days, what the hell was he missing?

"What if it's something else?" Kelsi suggested. Troy looked up at Kelsi,

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously, hopefully.

"What if the date is irrelevant? What if it's the numbers that are important?"

"So what? 1 and 16?" Taylor clarified. Kelsi nodded,

"What if those numbers are the next clue?"

The gang all seemed to be suddenly deeply in thought. Half the group looked down as the wheels in their head started to turn while the other half's eyes glazed over as the rest of the world disappeared so they could think.

"I need to make a list," Taylor announced interrupting everyone's thoughts. She rummaged in her bag until she found a pen and a piece of paper. "Ok, so we have 1 and 16. If we add them we have 17 and when we subtract them we get 15 or -15. If we multiply we get 16 and when we divide we get either 16 or 1/16. What else?"

"What about the fact that they're both square numbers?" Zeke pointed out. "Add 4 and 1 to the list."

"Or what if you just squish them together?" Chad suggested.

"What do you mean?" Troy asked.

"Like push the two numbers together and make 116," Chad explained.

"Is there anything else anyone can think of?" Taylor asked. The gang shook their heads.

"Ok, so now which number is it?" Sharpay wondered aloud.

"I'm thinking it's the square root thing," Jason said, "Gabriella is amazing at math."

"But she hates it," Troy murmured, "Why would she use math if she hates it?"

"Ok, so she wouldn't use math, that gets rid of everything," Taylor started crossing out numbers, pausing as she went down the short list, "except 116."

"What does 116 have to do with anything?" Zeke questioned. The gang shrugged their shoulders.

"She hates math, but she loves English. What if it has something to do with English?" Kelsi proposed.

"The book!" Troy exclaimed suddenly. "The book! The only other thing left was a book. It was on table with the note. The book, it has to be the book!"

"Well which book was it?" Sharpay demanded.

The excitement drained from Troy's eyes almost instantaneously. He shook his head, looking at the table in shame,

"I don't…I didn't look. I don't know," Troy stammered quietly. He was so angry with himself. How could he have been so stupid as to not have remembered? He remembered looking at the book - it was bluish - he just couldn't remember what the title read.

"Troy it's ok. We can just go to her apartment after school right?" Kelsi reminded him. Troy nodded.

"And besides we need to look at the book anyway. 116 has to be a page number. Something is on page 116, we just need to figure out what."

--

After the longest day of school in Troy's life he stood in front of Gabriella's apartment with the entire gang by his side. Truthfully, he was nervous. What if the book had nothing to do with it? What if they couldn't figure out what was on page 116? What if the door wasn't even unlocked?

Troy held his breath as he reached for the door handle, praying it was still unlocked. He pushed gently down and the door handle smoothly went down. Troy exhaled and pushed the door in, opening it so everyone could step through the threshold.

For a moment Troy hoped that he would see Lucas and Lily playing a board game on the family room floor while Gabriella cooked dinner in the kitchen. He hoped that she'd come rushing into his arms, happy to see him and tell him that all this had just been a misunderstanding.

But nothing like that happened. The apartment was still empty and lifeless. Troy's feet took him to the table with a dying potted flower and the book. He carefully picked up the book and ran his fingers over the title, The Time Traveler's Wife. Troy couldn't help but grip the book tightly, it was probably the last thing Gabriella had touched. Before he knew it the gang was standing around him peering at the book he held.

"The Time Traveler's Wife! Of course!" Taylor exclaimed, "That's one of Gabriella's favorite books. We discussed it just the other day."

Troy opened the book and turned to page 116. He cleared his throat and started to read from the page,

"Christmas Eve, Two. Saturday, December 24, 1988 (Henry is 25). Henry: I call dad and ask…and then I walk down to the staking rink." Troy looked up from the page, "Anyone get anything out of that?" he asked.

"Well, there were four places Henry went on that one page." Kelsi observed. "Korea, Florida, Belmont and Randolph, which one is it?"

"I think we can rule out Florida and Korea because we've already established she's in Connecticut." Zeke stated.

"So that still leaves Randolph and Belmont. We still don't know which one." Troy reminded them.

"Actually we do," Sharpay said. All heads turned to look at Sharpay curiously. She simply held up her blackberry. "According to Google, Randolph, Connecticut doesn't exist, so it has to be Belmont." She looked back down at her blackberry, typing in Belmont, Connecticut. When the screen loaded Sharpay looked completely bewildered.

"What?" Kelsi asked anxiously.

"Belmont, Connecticut doesn't exist either," Sharpay whispered.

While the rest of the gang argued about whether Gabriella was in Korea or Florida and what they should do next, Troy stared down at the page in front of him. Two words stuck out at him, "Christmas Eve". Those two words sent him back to his own Christmas Eve, the one he'd spent with Gabriella.

"_Brie, I think it sounds like that Christmas fantastic. I didn't know you lived in North Carolina though."_

"_Yup, I lived in North Carolina for the first 8 years of my life, and then it was about 4 months after that Christmas that we moved to Connecticut. It's kinda weird though, even after all these years I still think of North Carolina as my hometown." Gabriella explained, while she tipped her mug up so she could drink more of her hot chocolate. _

Troy's eyes went wide. North Carolina was Gabriella's home. "Home" wasn't Connecticut "home" was North Carolina. How could he not have seen it sooner?

"…Why the hell would they go to Korea?" Sharpay exclaimed. Troy furrowed his eyebrows, he had obviously come into this conversation at the wrong time.

"North Carolina," Troy said simply.

"What?" Sharpay asked in disbelief. "Where did that even come from?"

"On _Christmas Eve,_" Troy motioned to the top of page 116, "Gabriella was telling me that she used to live in North Carolina. Then she went on to say that North Carolina was home to her. They're not in Connecticut they're in North Carolina," Troy explained confidently.

The gang grew quiet as they waited for Sharpay to type in the town names attached to the new state to see if such a place actually existed. After a few minutes she looked up at her friends,

"Both Randolph and Belmont exist in North Carolina. Oh wait, no Randolph is a county," She looked up from her screen with hopeful eyes, "So it has to be Belmont right?"

The gang let out a sigh of relief. For the first time they felt as if they were actually getting somewhere. That they were actually getting closer to figuring out where Gabriella was.

"Ok! Ok, so now look up Montez in Belmont, North Carolina at ," Taylor instructed excitedly.

Sharpay's eyes were locked onto her blackberry screen as she typed in the search at .

"Ok," she said slowly, "So, there are 4 Montez household's in Belmont, Angela Montez, David Montez, Martin Montez and Tomas Montez."

Kelsi had already taken out a piece of paper and a pen, "Ok, read me the telephone number and address of each one."

"Why?" Zeke asked.

"We need to get calling," Kelsi answered simply, "What were you planning on doing?"

15 minutes later after 3 unsuccessful phone calls there was only one number left. Thomas Montez's number. Taylor used *67 to make her caller ID unknown and called each of the number's pretending to be a girl from Gabriella's English class who needed help with an English project.

Now that there was only one number left, Taylor took a deep breath and dialed the last number. Before she pressed the talk button she looked up at her friends. They were all sitting around her. Troy was directly to her right and Kelsi to her left. Troy's eyes were anxious and terrified, but so were everyone's.

"Here goes," she whispered pressing talk and holding the phone to her ear.

_Ring…_

_Ring…_

"_Hello" a gruff male voice answered. _

"Hi, my name is Jessica I'm in Gabriella's English class. I was wondering if I could speak to her," Taylor asked politely. The gang held their breath as they waited for Tomas' response.

"_I'll get her for you," he said. _

Taylor had to hold back her gasp. This was the right house! They were going to get to talk to Gabriella!

"Ok, thank you." Everyone's eyes widened when Taylor didn't hang up the phone after apologizing for calling the wrong number.

Taylor could hear Tomas yelling for Gabriella, then she heard muffled, slightly angry, voices, shuffling, a door open and close, and finally a very confused familiar voice pick up the phone,

"_Hello?"_

Taylor couldn't contain her excitement any longer, "Gabriella!" she cried.

"_Taylor?" Gabriella whispered disbelievingly. _

"Yes! Oh my god Gabriella! I can't believe we finally got to you!" Taylor exclaimed. Troy turned to Taylor, his eyes wide and concerned, but mostly overcome with joy.

"Put her on speaker!" Sharpay suggested excitedly. The gang agreed vehemently.

"Gabi I'm going to put you on speaker ok? Everyone's here." Taylor explained before she pushed the speakerphone button.

"_Hi guys," Gabriella breathed. _

Troy caught his breath. His Gabriella was on the phone, talking to them. He was so overcome with joy, he couldn't form words.

It seemed though that everyone else was having the same problem. Everyone was so happy to hear Gabriella's voice that no one knew what to say next.

"_Guys…?" she whispered unsure as to whether her friends were still there. _

"We're here Gabi," Kelsi assured her, "We're all just a little overwhelmed to hear your voice," she confessed.

"_Oh Kelsi, I can't tell you how happy I am that you called. I was so afraid that you wouldn't figure it out, that I'd made it too hard," Gabriella exasperated. _

"No, no we got it in the end, don't worry," Taylor promised Gabriella.

"We just had to put all our noggins together," Jason added.

_Gabriella laughed lightly. "I miss you guys," she whispered. _

"Oh we miss you too!" Sharpay exclaimed. A quiet fell over the group of friends, everyone knew what he/she wanted to say, but each was too afraid to ask it, well, except Chad,

"Gabs what happened that night?" he asked, his voice slightly softer than usual.

_Gabriella took a deep breath, "There was a knock at the door and I assumed it was Troy just coming back because I had just made him leave like 10 minutes before. I was going to tell him to go back to the party," she smiled slightly to herself before her mood turned dark again, "But it wasn't Troy at the door when I opened it. It was my dad. It tried to push the door shut, I really did, but I just wasn't strong enough. Then," Gabriella paused to collect herself and figure out how to explain what happened next, "then he yelled and I backed up. He threatened and I packed. I woke up Lucas and Lily and we left. I did everything I could think of. I was just so afraid." _

As Troy listened to Gabriella's story, his head fell to his hands. He hated the picture that had formed in his head. He hated himself for letting it happen. When Gabriella's story finished Troy heard her sniffle as if she was fighting back tears. His head shot up and he looked over at the phone.

"Oh sweetie it's ok, it's going to be ok. Don't cry." Sharpay soothed.

"You did everything you could Gabi," Kelsi reminded her softly.

"Yeah, I don't know how you figured out how to leave us all those clues. That was pretty amazing if you ask me," Chad pointed out, trying to lighten the mood.

_Gabriella chuckled lightly, though it was obvious she was still tearful, "It's just hard. I miss you guys," she admitted again. _

"Oh Gabi we miss you too," Taylor reassured her.

"Gabriella," Zeke began softly, "Maybe you should call somebody," he suggested.

_A sob escaped from Gabriella's lips, "I…I can't. My dad keeps the only phone near him at all times. I…I never have access to it. Besides, what if…what if they take Lucas and Lily away from me? I can let that happen."_

Troy wasn't sure why he hadn't said anything. He wanted to say something, but he just couldn't. He was afraid she didn't want to hear his voice. He was terrified she hated him. His heart couldn't deal with that if it was true. So, he remained silent.

He couldn't stand hearing her cry though. He hated that he could hear the sharp pain in her voice, that there was nothing he could do to ease it. Thankfully Kelsi managed to find the right words,

"Shhh," she soothed, "We'll do research and figure out something else out."

"_I…I don't know what else there is to do," Gabriella cried softly._

"We'll find something Gabi. We will," Sharpay promised.

"Is there any way we can talk to you more often? Do you have a computer?" Taylor asked.

"_I have no internet at home. He took that away," she sniffled. _

"What about at school? Does your school have computers?" Zeke questioned.

"_I think so," Gabriella murmured._

"Make a random e-mail account and e-mail one of us as often as you can," Zeke explained. "We need to hear from you Gabi."

"_I should have thought of that earlier. I can't believe I didn't, that would have made it so much easier for you guys," Gabriella rambled, slightly angry with herself. _

"It's alright Gabi, don't worry. You're doing everything you can," Sharpay assured her.

"_I'm trying," she whispered. _

Another silence fell over the gang. Kelsi looked over at Troy curiously. His head had fallen back into his hands. She was confused as to why he hadn't said anything to Gabriella. Kelsi knew he wanted to talk to her - you just had to look at his face to figure that out, but she just didn't know why he wasn't talking to her. She was a little bit worried.

Gabriella broke the silence, changing the subject,

"_How are you guys?" Gabriella's voice seemed forced, as if she was trying to sound optimistic. _

"Other than you not being here, I'd say we're all doing pretty ok," Sharpay spoke for the group, "The drama club is holding auditions for this year's musical this week."

"And we're preparing for the scholastic decathlon this Saturday," Taylor told her.

"_Oh good luck, I know you'll do really well. How's the school taking the big win?" she asked. _

"We're all pretty excited about it, there are banners everywhere!" Jason exclaimed.

"Darbus was kind of confused though, she called it front to front championships. Fail" Chad explained.

_Gabriella laughed softly before she paused, as if she was trying to decide something._

"Gabi?" Kelsi asked trying to see if she could get Gabriella to say what she was unsure about saying.

"_Where's Troy?" she mumbled. _

Troy's head snapped up immediately, his eyes wide. Everyone looked over at him, waiting to see what he would say. However he said nothing, mostly because he didn't know _what _to say. If Gabriella was asking for him, did that mean that she wasn't angry with him? That she wasn't disappointed in him? He wasn't sure.

Kelsi finally saw that as much as Troy wanted to speak to Gabriella, he was afraid to do so. She grabbed the phone off the table and quickly turned off speaker phone,

"He's here Gabi. We'll let you talk to him privately."

Kelsi handed Troy the phone, which he took unsurely.

His body somehow stood him up and his feet walked him to Gabriella's bedroom, all the while his brain trying to figure out what the hell he was going so say. Slowly he put the phone up to his ear; he could hear Gabriella's nervous breathing. Maybe she was just as nervous as he was.

"Brie?" he whispered.

"_Troy" Gabriella breathed, "Oh Troy, I miss you."_

"I miss you too so, so much," Troy murmured, closing his eyes. "I'm so sorry I let you down."

"_You didn't let me down. What are you talking about?" _

"I let him get you. I broke my promise," Troy reminded her. "If I had only stayed a little bit longer."

"_No, no Troy. This isn't your fault. Please don't ever think that, it breaks my heart to hear you say that" Gabriella told him. _

"But Gabriella-" Troy began.

"_No, you didn't call up my father and ask him to come get me. You've only helped me Troy. It's just made my day to hear your voice. So, no being mad at yourself. Ok?"_

Troy sighed, "You're too good to me. I love you." Troy wasn't sure if he was able to completely let himself off the hook for breaking his promise, but he would try, if that was what Gabriella wanted.

He also couldn't quite forgive himself for that brief period of time he had hated her, but he took comfort in the fact that she wasn't angry with him or disappointed in him. He supposed that he would just have to try to forget about those dark few days because he was certain that he'd been foolish for those days. He knew he loved her more than anything because living without her was destroying him inside.

"_I love you too Troy," Gabriella said tenderly. _

Troy smiled, he had missed hearing Gabriella confess her love to him.

"How are Luc and Lily doing?" he asked. There was one question, which he was pretty sure he already knew the answer to even though he secretly hoped he was wrong, that was tugging at his heart. He figured this might be the best way to address the subject.

"_Um…they've been pretty miserable," Gabriella admitted shamefully, "They're taking this hard, but I don't know if I can blame them. I can see they're afraid and hurt."_

"They'll be ok, they're two tough kids. Tell them I miss them."

"_I will. They'll be thrilled to know you guys called."_

"And what about you Brie? How are you doing?" Troy asked softly. Troy could sense Gabriella's hesitance, "You can tell me, you know I'll be able to tell if you're lying."

_Gabriella took a deep breath, "I'm just overwhelmed. I'm angry that he found us, I'm scared about what will happen, I'm exhausted from everything and I'm miserable without you," her voice cracked," But right now I feel a weird sense of peace talking with you, like everything is going to be ok."_

"It will be," Troy assured her, "I'm going to make sure of that."

"_I know you will."_

"Brie," Troy's voice was even more was serious now, "Is he hurting you?"

There, he'd said it. He asked her. He clutched the phone as he waited for her response.

"_Yes," she managed to choke out. "But it's ok. I'm ok," She tried to assured him tearfully. _

Troy's grip on the phone tightened, that was the response he had been expecting but not the response he needed to hear. He couldn't bear to know her sick father was beating his children.

"It's not ok Gabriella. I'm going to make it stop. I'm going to do whatever it takes to make you safe again," Troy promised fiercely, his grip on the phone iron tight.

A comfortable silence fell over the pair as they basked in the sound of their lover's breathing. Troy closed his eyes, trying desperately to pretend Gabriella was sitting safely next to him. However his dreams were quickly interrupted when he heard her father yell for Gabriella. He heard Gabriella gasp quietly and his eyes shot open.

"_I have to go Troy," Gabriella said painfully. _

"E-mail me and you ever can call me, it doesn't matter what time it is. We'll figure something Brie. I know we will."

"_I will. I love you," Gabriella whispered. _

"I love you too," Troy murmured.

"_Goodbye," she said quietly. _

The dial tone rang in Troy's ear as he kept the phone clutched in his hand. He closed his eyes and shook the phone indecisively before he finally pressed the end button. He hadn't wanted the phone call to end. He craved Gabriella's voice again. He fell backwards onto the bed, his legs hanging off the edge as he stared up at the ceiling.

--

Gabriella hated pressing the end button. She could have talked to her friends forever, that half an hour she'd spent on the phone had taken her to another place. Only now was she pulled back down to earth – or rather hell.

"GABRIELLA! Are you off the goddamn phone yet?" he father yelled. Quickly wiping her tears, Gabriella inhaled and rushed out into the living room, where her father was lounging on the couch, drinking a beer and watching a football game. She gingerly held out the phone and he quickly snatched it from her.

"Finally! What the hell were you talking about?" He demanded.

"Just our English project. We didn't get a chance to finish it in school, it's due tomorrow," Gabriella answered softly.

"Well next time finish the project in school like everyone else! Is dinner ready yet? I'm starving."

She shook her head, "No it'll be about half an hour longer."

Her father's face reddened immediately with anger, "Oh for God's sake! All I do I give and you can't even get a fucking dinner ready for your father!" He threw his hands in the air as he stood up, towering over a terrified Gabriella. She could smell the thick scent of alcohol in his breath.

"I'm sorry," Gabriella mumbled.

His hand collided with the side of her face, "Sorry doesn't cut it. Go finish the dinner." He growled.

Gabriella nodded quickly, turning around to scurry back into the kitchen, her hand comforting her stinging cheek the entire time.

She went straight for the vegetables she'd been cutting prior to the phone call. Her mind managed to drift away from the steady chopping motion and back to the conversation.

She was so thankful that they'd figured it out and called her. Hearing their voices was like music to her ears and hearing Troy's voice, oh it was her version of heaven at the moment. She could tell he'd been worried and she hoped that he wasn't so worried that it was going to start interfering with his life.

Gabriella sighed as she wiped the excess carrot off her knife. She pushed the carrots to the side and grabbed a bag of green beans to start preparing them.

She wasn't quite sure what her friends thought they were going to do, but she hoped that they would figure something out because she felt like she was all out of options. She knew she couldn't call the police because she also knew that right after that she and siblings would be separated and she was certain that she couldn't let that happen. Ever.

She had faith though her friends would figure out something while maybe she'd try to work something out herself. She felt relieved that she knew she had a way to communicate with her friends, but she was also terrified because she knew that if somehow her father found out she was dead.

The phone call had been helpful in boosting her spirit. For a while she'd truthfully forgotten she was in North Carolina, while her friends were back in New Mexico. Now that they were gone she felt alone. Hearing their voices had brought back a myriad of memories from her time in New Mexico. She'd remembered what cooking was like when laughter filled the air and as she continued to cook, she tried to remember that feeling. The feeling of happiness.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, so there you have it. I hate the ending, but I really wanted to get this up tonight. I hope you still managed to enjoy chapter! Thank you for reading! Please review with your thoughts.**

**Oh, obviously, I don't know ****The Time Traveler's Wife****, but if you haven't read it I recommend it! **


	25. Emailing

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: AHHH! Sorry for the wait! There are less than 3 weeks until finals and I'm pretty much freaking out. School is crazy right now, so I'm trying to get as much time in as I can to write this. Thank you for being patient. It really means a lot to me! I hope all you Americans out there enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend – I know I did! Enjoy…**

* * *

_Last Time…_

_She wasn't quite sure what her friends thought they were going to do, but she hoped that they would figure something out because she felt like _she_ was all out of options. She knew she couldn't call the police because she also knew that right after that she and siblings would be separated and she was certain that she couldn't let that happen. Ever. _

_She had faith though her friends would figure out something while maybe she'd try to work something out herself. She felt relieved that she knew she had a way to communicate with her friends, but she was also terrified because she knew that if somehow her father found out she was dead._

_The phone call had been helpful in boosting her spirit. For a while she'd truthfully forgotten she was in North Carolina, while her friends were back in New Mexico. Now that they were gone she felt alone. Hearing their voices had brought back a myriad of memories from her time in New Mexico. She'd remembered what cooking was like when laughter filled the air and as she continued to cook, she tried to remember that feeling. The feeling of happiness. _

Chapter Twenty Five – E-mailing

It had been one month since the phone call and since then Gabriella hadn't heard her friends' voices once. They did however chat through e-mail. Gabriella spent her lunch period in the library, replying to the e-mails. The e-mails were Gabriella's only way of staying connected with her friends, they were what go her through her day.

She needed _something_ to get her through her day, because truthfully she was exhausted. Getting more than 5 hours of sleep had become a luxury for Gabriella that hadn't occurred in weeks.

The exhaustion was not only affecting her mentally, but it was starting to affect her physically. Since her body had become weaker, she had become less tolerant to her father's beatings. Ugly bruises covered her upper arms and abdomen. On her face she had a few scars as well as dark circles under her eyes. Gabriella was thinning out also due to lack of rest and the intensity of her work load. There just didn't seem to be enough time in the day anymore.

Gabriella was currently sitting on her bed doing her homework. She tried to work quickly, but the daunting thought of the day's tasks that still needed to be completed loomed over her, impairing her ability to work efficiently. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on her work. However, schoolwork came second in the Montez house,

"GABRIELLA!" her father hollered. Gabriella scrambled to get herself on her feet. She frantically made her way downstairs to the kitchen, where her father stood in front of a nearly empty refrigerator.

"How does this look like to you?" he demanded pointing into the refrigerator.

"Um…empty?" Gabriella offered softly.

"Exactly!" her father answered sharply, causing Gabriella to flinch slightly. "My next question would be, why is it empty?"

Gabriella paused, she knew the answer to this question, it was really very simple. Her father had been too lazy to go shopping. Going shopping was one of the few responsibilities Gabriella was not held accountable for, due to the fact that it involved leaving the house. However, Gabriella knew better than to answer with that answer. _That _answer would get her beaten.

"I'm sorry, I can go food shopping right now if you want," she replied quietly.

Tomas contemplated his daughter's response before he formulated his decision,

"You have exactly one hour to do the shopping from the time you leave this house and Lucas and Lily are staying right here. Understood?""

Gabriella nodded quickly, afraid to say anything in fear that her father would strike her. Her father roughly shoved money into Gabriella hand before he pushed past her. Not wanting to waste any time, Gabriella quickly wrote down some items she knew they needed. She grabbed her jacket and her bag before she slipped out the front door.

The grocery store wasn't too far from the Montez's house and luckily Gabriella didn't have too much to get, so she wouldn't have too much to carry home from the store. It was also a lovely day outside, so really Gabriella didn't mind walking to the store.

Gabriella clutched her bag as she made her way down the sidewalk. She hummed quietly to herself as the cool breeze blew her hair in multiple directions. Before she knew it she was walking into the small town center of Belmont and she could see the supermarket just at the end of the street.

As her mind started to map out her path in the store she lost focus and bumped into a couple.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going!" she apologized, embarrassed. Looking up at the couple, Gabriella immediately recognized the man walking with the woman; it was Alex, Troy's brother. She froze, praying that by some miracle he wouldn't know who she was – that would make things a lot easier.

However as soon as Gabriella made eye contact with him she knew he recognized her.

"Gabriella?" Alex asked, clearly confused.

"Hi Alex," she responded.

Alex grinned, "Well I certainly didn't expect to see you here. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"My dad moved us here. I've been here for about a month," Gabriella replied.

"That sucks," he frowned, "How are you getting on here?"

"Eh," Gabriella shrugged her shoulders, "I'm doing ok. What are you doing in Belmont?"

"I'm here with my girlfriend Cassie, who you haven't met," he stepped aside slightly and motioned to a fair-skinned, curly red haired, young woman, "Gabriella, this is Cassie. Cassie this is Gabriella, my brother's…" Alex paused, for the first time considering that Gabriella might not still be his brother's girlfriend. "Uh…friend."

Cassie smiled warmly as she shook Gabriella's frail hand,

"It's nice to meet you."

"You as well," Gabriella smiled, "And just so you know Alex, I'm still Troy's girlfriend."

"Well thank God for that. He was pretty much a slob before he met you. You managed to knock some sense into him."

Cassie rolled her eyes, "Oh stop, it's not like you're any better."

Gabriella chuckled softly. "So what brings you guys to Belmont?" she asked curiously.

"We're meeting Casssie's parents for dinner." Alex answered.

"There is this amazing restaurant called Amethyst here. It's my favorite restaurant, so every time I come home from college we go there," Cassie explained.

"That sounds wonderful. I should let you guys go enjoy your evening though," Gabriella said.

Alex nodded," It was good to see you again Gabriella."

"You too" she answered, "And it was nice to meet you Cassie."

"You as well. Hopefully we'll see each other sometime in the future" Cassie smiled.

"I hope so."

Alex had taken Cassie's hand as they said their final goodbyes. Gabriella walked in the opposite direction of Cassie and Alex but she couldn't help but glance over her shoulder back at the couple strolling down the sidewalk.

She smiled softly. The brief encounter hadn't been that bad, it could have been a lot worse. Gabriella had actually enjoyed it in a way. Although she felt a pang in heart, seeing a familiar face was a nice break. She had also done something she hadn't done in ages. She had laughed. It had only been a chuckle, but it was the closest Gabriella had gotten to feeling happy in the past month.

She sighed and continued to walk to the street to the grocery store. After shopping for 40 minutes Gabriella managed to make it back to her house before her hour was up.

She slipped through the front door and gratefully placed the heavy shopping bags in the kitchen. She pulled the frozen pizza from one of the bags and preset the oven to 400 degrees. While she waited for the oven to heat up, Gabriella unpacked the groceries. Soon the oven beeped and she placed the pizza in. Setting the timer Gabriella left the kitchen to go upstairs so she could get some more of her homework in before the pizza cooked.

As she walked past Lily's room she heard whimpering. Concerned, Gabriella knocked lightly on the door,

"Lily? Lily are you alright?" she asked softly.

"Gabi?" Lily's broken voice came from through the door.

Gabriella immediately opened the door only to see Lily and Lucas huddled on Lily's bed crying, bleeding and bruised. She gasped upon seeing her brother and sister – this was the worst she'd seen them.

Darting over to the bed Gabriella started examining her siblings. Both Lucas and Lily had red hand prints, which would surely bruise, all up their arms mostly likely because their father had grabbed them.

Both her sibling's faces were stained with tears as they looked up at Gabriella with scared eyes. Sitting between them she wrapped her arms around them. Just as soon as she touched Lily's back, Lily winced painfully. Gabriella immediately let go of her brother and sister to look at Lily's back. Carefully she lifted the back of her sister's shirt up, wincing silently as she saw the red markings on her back, parts of which were bleeding. Slowly Gabriella let the shirt back down and got up off the bed. Lucas however grabbed her arm before she could even turn around.

"Don't leave us Gabi," he begged frightfully.

"I'm just going to get the first aid kit. I'll be right back. I promise," Gabriella assured him. Lucas nodded and released his grip on Gabriella's arm.

Within minutes Gabriella was back in Lily's room with her first aid kit in one hand and two ice packs in the other.

"Here, use these where it hurts," she said gently, handing each of her siblings an ice pack.

Gabriella took some time to care for the wounds on Lily's back as well as some she found on Lucas' legs.

As the twin's calmed Gabriella finally decided it was time to figure out what had happened.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

Lily sniffled and took a deep breath, "My teacher called home. She's worried that I'm not getting enough sleep, which is probably true because I don't really sleep well anymore because of you know..But Dad told her that I have a clinical sleep problem and that he'll even show her the doctor's note tomorrow. Then, after he hung up he came storming upstairs and started yelling and then…" Lily trailed off frightfully.

"And then I heard Lily scream and a loud crash. So, I came running in here and Lily was on the floor near the bed and then he grabbed me and you know…" Lucas recounted quietly, "Then he just left, mumbling about having to forge a note now."

Gabriella pulled her brother and sister close, careful not to touch their injuries, "Shhhh. It's all over now. It's going to be ok," she soothed.

"It was just so scary," Lily mumbled, "He was so angry. He said it was our faults. That we were trying to get him in trouble." She hiccupped, "and he, he said that if anyone ever called concerned again, he would…he would…kill us," a sob escaped Lily's lips and Gabriella could feel Lucas crying as well.

Gabriella whispered comforting words to her brother and sister, assuring that it would all be alright; that she would make sure that nothing happened to them.

She held them close until she heard the oven beep downstairs. She helped to dry Lucas and Lily's tears, trying to make it look as if they hadn't been crying, before she actually went downstairs with the twins by her side.

--

The next day, Gabriella sat in front of a school computer in the library. She had her e-mail open, with a box to compose a new e-mail open as well.

She hadn't slept a wink last night – she'd been awake thinking about what had happened with the twins. Their terrified faces were constantly streaming in her mind. As well as the chilling threat her father had made, _"he would…kill us." _The most terrifying part of his threat was that Gabriella knew her father was actually capable of following it through.

She couldn't let that happen.

She had to figure out a way to make sure no one ever got suspicious or reported them. They would just have to live with their father forever. They would just have to get used to it again. It wasn't worth the risk. The chance at getting freedom also came with some pretty terrifying risks.

If someone reported her father, the police would show up and an investigation would commence. Lucas, Lily and Gabriella would probably be taken to some sort of shelter while their father was tried in court. There was always the possibility that he wouldn't be charged and they would have to go back and live the man who was out to kill them. Even if he was charged, there was no guarantee on how long he'd be locked away or if he'd even be locked away. On top of all that, even if everything worked out perfectly regarding convicting her father, Gabriella still might be separated from her brother and sister, and she couldn't even think about that. The way Gabriella looked at it they were most definitely better off if she could prevent anyone from figuring it out.

She looked back up at the computer screen; she knew what she had to do. She had to cut off ties with the gang. She had to separate her feelings from her logic. It was far too dangerous to keep this up. If her father found out, she was sure that the threat from the night she'd been taken away was still in place. That was two threats on her life by the same person. She would have to tell them to stop trying to find away to get her away from her father, so that there wouldn't be a chance of getting reported from that aspect.

Taking a deep breath, she began to type,

_Dear Everyone,_

_I don't even know where to begin with this, but I need to start somewhere. We can't do this anymore. It's too risky and I'm too afraid that something worse than any of us can imagine will happen to either myself or Lucas or Lily. I know you're thinking that he'll never find out, but I'm not prepared to take that risk anymore, not when my brother and sister's lives are at stake. He figured out we were in Albuquerque, it would be easy to figure out this. So, please don't try to fix this. I'll be alright, I promise. Who knows maybe one day we'll see each other again? For now though, move on. Live your lives and I'll live mine._

_Goodbye,_

_Gabriella_

_xoxoxo_

Gabriella couldn't bear to read it over to check for errors. Doing so, would only deepen the pain she felt. She quickly pressed send and waited for the message to pop up that the e-mail had been sent.

Upon seeing the words on her computer screen, she pushed back her chair and walked straight to her only safe haven: the girl's bathroom. Having fought back tears the entire way to the bathroom, when she finally arrived the tears immediately streamed from her eyes.

She couldn't breathe, she felt like she had lost a part of herself. In some ways she really had. She had let go of some of the people who were most important to her. It hurt so much more this time than it had when she'd been taken from Albuquerque because this time she felt like she was losing them forever. She also knew that this would hurt them probably just as badly as it hurt her. That, in turn, killed her inside because the last thing she wanted to do was hurt her friends.

Gazing back up at her broken eyes she prayed that she had made the right decision. She was confident however that he had done just that. That she was, in fact, protecting her family.

* * *

**A/N: How about that for a tad bit of a twist? How will Troy and the rest of the gang react? You'll see soon ;) **

**Also, I know this is only from Gabriella's point of view, but if I had extended it to be from the gang's point of view as well, you might never have seen this chapter. So I hope you don't mind too much! **

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	26. Now What?

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Hiya! I'd like to start out by apologizing for my lack of updating. I'm a terrible updater and I know it. I really can't thank you guys enough for sticking with me! **

**I'd also like to send a very special belated birthday wish to Brie! This chapter is for you! Happy Birthday!! **

**Enjoy…**

* * *

_Last Time…_

_She couldn't breathe, she felt like she had lost a part of herself. In some ways she really had. She had let go of some of the people who were most important to her. It hurt so much more this time than it had when she'd been taken from Albuquerque because this time she felt like she was losing them forever. She also knew that this would hurt them probably just as badly as it hurt her. That, in turn, killed her inside because the last thing she wanted to do was hurt her friends. _

_Gazing back up at her broken eyes she prayed that she had made the right decision. She was confident however that he had done just that. That she was, in fact, protecting her family._

Chapter Twenty Six – Now What?

Damn it!

Troy pounded his fist of his desk. He had just read the e-mail Gabriella had sent that afternoon. The e-mail that explained Gabriella's wish to be left alone.

Troy hadn't wanted to believe Sharpay when she came marching down the hallway after school with her blackberry in one hand, the other on her hip and an angry expression on her face. She had shoved her bedazzled blackberry at Troy while she dramatically expressed her shock. He hadn't wanted to believe her right then and there because he was fairly certain he wouldn't have been able to hold it together in school.

So instead of staying with his friends to discuss the latest development he'd gotten into his car and driven home, the long way. Truthfully he'd been afraid of reading the e-mail again. He'd known what it said, but sitting at home reading it for himself would have brought a whole new perspective to the e-mail.

However, he had finally trudged up to his room and turned on his computer. He had opened his e-mail and read the e-mail slowly and carefully, hoping to catch a mistake within the document. After 20 minutes of reading and re-reading the e-mail he had finally decided that there was nothing cryptic about the e-mail and that Gabriella truly did just want to be left alone. This realization brought Troy to his current state.

He had his elbows on his desk as he rubbed his forehead with his fingers.

Now what?

He knew he had to do something. Right? If he did as Gabriella had asked him and left her alone, then she would be "safe". According to her note, letting her be would keep her safe, but how could she be safe with her father still keeping her under his watch?

He didn't know if he could handle forgetting Gabriella and leaving her be. On the other hand, he couldn't be selfish. He needed to do what was best for Gabriella. If he just had ten minutes to talk to her about what was going on he could figure out what the right thing to do was.

Troy let out a long, frustrated sigh. He was so confused. What the hell was he going to do? With his head in his hands, he let his brain mull through all the information he'd been given as he sat in silence.

He groaned, however, when he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. Pulling the phone from his pocket he groaned again when he saw it was his brother calling. Opening it up he answered soundly slightly annoyed,

"No, I haven't watched the Suns game yet. I've only just gotten back from school."

"_Well aren't you just Mr. Happy this afternoon," Alex responded sarcastically. _

"Alex I'm really not in the mood," Troy sighed, "What do you want?"

"_Can't a brother just call his only brother to say hello?" he asked innocently. _

Troy snorted, "Yeah, but this brother's brother never does that. In fact, the brother I know hates it when certain siblings cough, cough Nora, call just to say hello."

"_Touché. Well I wasn't originally calling because of the Suns game, but dude since you brought it up, you have to watch that game. Shaq made this amazing shot. It was gold. You should watch it like now," Alex rambled._

"Ok. Ok. I'll watch soon as I get the chance. Why'd you really call?"

"_Well, yesterday Cassie and I went to visit her parents in Charlotte. Cassie of course wanted to go to her favorite restaurant in this town like 20 minutes away. We decided to meet her parents at the restaurant, so we were walking down the street and you'll never guess who I literally bumped into."_

As if Alex could see him, Troy shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. Who?"

"_Come on Troy, guess." Alex encouraged. _

Troy groaned in annoyance. "I don't know, Obama?" he guessed randomly.

_Alex snorted, "Obama? Seriously? No. I told her she'd knocked some sense into you, obviously I was wrong though because you still don't have any sense."_

"Dude what are you even talking about?"

_The older Bolton brother chuckled, "You just proved my point with that last question. Gabriella. I saw Gabriella." _

Troy couldn't breathe. A wave of emotion came over him that he wasn't really prepared for. He was jealous, jealous that his brother had gotten to see Gabriella while Troy was without her.

What was he supposed to say? Obviously he wanted to know every detail of their encounter down to the pitch of her voice. The problem arose, however, when he tried to figure out how he was going to ask his brother about it without telling him what was going on.

"_Not so fast with the comebacks anymore are we?" Alex mocked. _

"Ha. Ha. Funny," Troy laughed dryly, snapping out of his thoughts. "How was she?" he asked curiously.

"_Well I didn't talk to her for very long, we had to go and she had to go and we just didn't talk for very long. She said she was ok though," Alex answered. _

Troy sighed, what Gabriella said wasn't always how she felt.

"Did she look happy?" Troy asked anxiously.

"_Uh…yes?" Alex offered._

Troy sighed, he could tell Alex had absolutely no idea what he was saying and was just trying to please Troy. It was then that Troy heard rustling and annoyed muttering from the other end of the line. Furrowing his eyebrows he waited for a few moments until,

"_Troy? Are you still there?" a feminine voice came over the phone, "It's Cassie."_

"_And I'm still here" Alex cut in, reminding his brother of his presence. _

"Hey Cassie," Troy greeted.

"_What your brother failed to notice was that I thought Gabriella looked not only surprised to see us, but also relieved in a way. I mean she seemed really genuinely sweet, but she also seemed to be stressed out," Cassie explained. "Have you talked to her lately?" she asked. _

"Uh, we e-mail mostly," Troy admitted, though he was getting more and more concerned as Cassie presented him with more information. "Why? Did she seem ok?"

"_Truthfully Troy, she looked exhausted. It might just be that she has a ton of work at school, but you should really give her a call. It's much easier to hide your feelings through e-mail. If you talk with her for a while you'll be able to get some things out of her. Besides that's what boyfriends do, they call their girlfriends," Cassie encouraged. _

"_You really should listen to Cassie man, she's pretty smart when it comes to people. And come to think of it, Gabi did look a little frailer than the last time I saw her," Alex said. _

Troy sighed. That hadn't quite been what he'd wanted to hear, but what else was he expecting?

"_So, we gotta get to an evening class tonight, but don't worry too much about Gabriella man, I'm sure she's fine. Just give her a call. Maybe she just got sick," Alex suggested. _

"I will. Thanks for the call," Troy responded, trying not to sound too upset about everything.

"_No problem. Say hello to mom and dad for me, will you? I'll talk to you soon man. And watch that game!"_

Troy chuckled slightly, "Will do. Bye."

"_Adios."_

Troy pressed the end button and closed his phone, squeezing it tightly in his hand.

Shit.

--

"There is no way we are just leaving her there with that monster!" Taylor argued.

"What if what Gabriella says is true? What if there are lives at stake here? We can't risk getting involved," Kelsi retorted.

The entire gang was sitting in Sharpay's fully furnished basement, arguing about what they wanted to do next. After a whole day to mull over everything no one could come up with a solution that would please everyone.

"She's already unhealthy Kelsi! I spoke to my brother yesterday, he saw her, frail was the word her used. Frail!" Troy fired back. "How can we just sit here when we know she's miserable?"

"At least she's still alive Troy!" Ryan countered. "There is no doubt in my mind that if Mr. Montez has threatened Gabriella's life, he will follow through."

"So are you suggesting we just leave her be. We just forget about Gabriella?" Taylor asked angrily.

"No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying we need to find a better way. We need to do what's best for Gabriella," Kelsi replied calmly.

"And how do we know what that is?" Zeke asked rhetorically.

The group paused for a second, Zeke's question had struck them in their cores. How were they going to figure out what was best for Gabriella? There were so many paths to be taken, so many obstacles to overcome, so many outcomes. Which one was best?

Sharpay suddenly got up and grabbed a pad of paper.

"Ok we're making a list," Sharpay announced.

"A list of what?" Ryan asked.

"A list of what Gabriella wants," she answered, putting her pen to the paper, ready to write, "Go."

"Well, she wants us to leave her alone," Jason recalled.

"Does she really though?" Taylor challenged. "Or does she just want to keep her siblings safe?"

"If she wanted to be left alone she wouldn't have been e-mailing us all this time," Troy pointed out. "She definitely just wants to keep Luc and Lily safe."

"So, she wants to keep Luc and Lily safe but she still wants us to help her?" Sharpay clarified before she wrote it down. "What else?"

"She is terrified of being separate from her brother and sister. We need to make sure that whatever happens, they are all kept together," Troy reminded the group.

"Well then, that's eliminates foster care as a possible solution," Taylor pointed out. "The foster care system usually separates siblings, not always because it wants to, but because people can't usually take in too many children."

"Woah! Wait, slow down." Chad held up his hands, "I think we're moving a bit fast here. Were you seriously considering the foster care system?"

"Yes, the foster care system is definitely an option. In Gabriella's case it's not the best one, but it is an option. Something drastic has to happen in order to fix this," Taylor explained seriously. "We need to figure out 3 things. First, how to get Gabriella out of the situation she's in. Second, what to do after that. Like, where she'll live, who she'll live with. And third we need to figure which one makes Gabriella the happiest and safest."

"So if foster care is out of the question, what else is there?" Chad wondered.

"Oo! Oo!" Sharpay exclaimed, banging her pen in the air, "What about that thing, where a minor can file to by herself. Like Nathan on One Tree Hill! Oh! Student emancipation!"

Chad rolled his eyes, "Are you kidding Sharpay? That show is all made up. I mean come on, what about the psychotic Nanny who was chasing Jaime through that corn field? What the hell was that? Oh and then when Deb killed her with a beer bottle. I don't think anything ever happens like that in real life."

The gang stared at Chad with their mouths open.

Sharpay laughed disbelievingly, "You watch One Tree Hill? Chad Danforth, Mr. I hate drama."

Chad turned red very quickly and stuttered as he tried to cover his tracks, "No. I don't watch it. I, uh, Taylor makes me watch it!" he pointed to his girlfriend quickly.

Sharpay scoffed, "Right, ok. I don't see why you wouldn't like it though, there's a lot of basketball stuff in it. But for your information student emancipation, as it's called, is actually possible. I would know, I tried one when I was in 8th grade."

"But would a court _really_ give a sixteen year old girl custody of her two siblings? I have no doubt that if anyone could get student emancipation, it would be Gabriella, but I think it would be tough for her to get custody of her brother and sister," Taylor reasoned.

"Well then that puts that in the no pile, Gabriella would never forgive herself if she let her brother and sister go," Troy sighed.

"So no foster care system, no student emancipation. Where else can she go?" Zeke questioned.

"What about her extended family?" Kelsi suggested, "Aunts? Uncles?"

Troy shook his head, "She doesn't have any Aunts or Uncles, both her parents were only children. The only relative she has ever spoken of is her grandmother."

"That's perfect!" Ryan exclaimed, "Where does she live?"

Troy winced silently. "She lives in Spain. I don't even know her name," he trailed off wearily.

A frustrated silence fell over the gang again as they hit another wall. On top of all that, they were out of ideas. Where else could Gabriella realistically go?

"Wait…" Sharpay tapped her pen against her cheek as she thought something through, "Ah ha!" she exclaimed, lifting her pen in celebration. "So, we're pretty much decided that the best option would be for Gabriella's grandmother to gain custody of her grandchildren. Right?" Sharpay looked around the gang for reassurance.

"But Shar, we're been over this, Gabriella's grandma lives in Spain. I don't even know _where_ in Spain she lives. And on top of all that, I don't even have a first name," Troy reminded Sharpay dejectedly.

"Don't worry about that for just now, we'll get to that. For now though we have to be sure that that is the best option," Sharpay clarified. She looked around the group to make sure they all seemed to think it was. When the group nodded their heads, she continued, "Ok. So all we have to do is call her." Sharpay shrugged her shoulders as if it was simple.

Zeke, who was sitting next to Sharpay, placed his hand on her forearm, "Sweetie, Troy just reminded us, we don't have a way to contact her."

"Oh we will though," Sharpay grinned. "You see, a while back Daddy needed a PI to investigate one of his business partners. And she did such an amazing job that anytime we need anything found out discretely she helps us out. So I'll just give him a call and he'll get us a name and a number." Sharpay explained happily.

"Are you sure PIs can do that? I mean find people we pretty much have no idea about?" Chad questioned skeptically.

"Let's find out" Sharpay smirked, scrolling through her contacts. After finding the number, she put the phone on speaker phone so the whole group could hear.

_Ring…Ring…Ring…_

"_Kate Beckett."_

"Hi Kate, it's Sharpay Evans"

"_Oh Sharpay, it's lovely to hear from you. How are you?" Kate asked enthusiastically. _

"Fabulous, as always. And you?"

"_I'm well thank you. What can I do for you today?" she asked. _

"Well, I actually have someone I need you to find for my friends and me."

"_Ok." Kate seemed shocked by Sharpay's request. "Who?"_

"My friend's grandmother," Sharpay answered succinctly.

"_If she's your friend Sharpay why don't you just ask her yourself?"_

Sharpay sighed, "It's a really long story, but basically I don't have contact with her anymore. I just really really need to get a hold of her grandmother's telephone number and name. Is that possible?"

"_Anything is possible Sharpay. I'll do my best. How much do you know?"_

"Let's see, I know she lives in Spain. Her granddaughter's name is Gabriella Montez, who currently lives and has lived in Belmont, North Carolina. Um, Gabriella has a brother and sister, Lucas and Lily. Oh! And her Dad's name is Tomas," Sharpay recalled.

"_And is this her father's mother or her mother's mother?" Kate asked. _

"Uh…" Sharpay trailed off, looking around the group for help.

"Her mother's mother," Troy answered quickly. "And if it helps I know her grandmother bakes delicious mantecados," he added.

"_And what's her mother's name?" _

"I don't know," Troy replied softly. "Gabriella's mom left them when Gabriella was 10. She doesn't really speak much of her mother."

"_Oh dear," Kate murmured. "I'll do my very best to find her. Just a warning though, it may take a while," she warned. _

"We understand. Thank you Kate," Sharpay said.

"_I'll be in touch." Kate stated before she hung up. _

Sharpay pressed the end button and looked up around the group. There was a mix of emotion in the air: elief, concern, anxiety, helpless.

"Now what?" Chad wondered.

"Now we wait." Sharpay answered simply.

* * *

**A/N: So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter even though it was kind of a filler chapter. I'm really excited for the next chapter! Like really excited! Hopefully you'll all enjoy it!**

**Do I have any Castle or One Tree Hill fans out there? If so, I hope you enjoyed the references! **

**Thank you for reading! Please review!**


	27. A Miracle

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Thank you again for all the reviews! Hope you guys are all enjoying your summer!**

* * *

_Last Time…_

_Sharpay pressed the end button and looked up around the group. There was a mix of emotion in the air: relief, concern, anxiety, helpless. _

"_Now what?" Chad wondered. _

"_Now we wait." Sharpay answered simply. _

Chapter Twenty Seven – A Miracle

One month. It had been exactly one month since Sharpay had called Kate to ask for help. It had been one month since the gang had had contact with Gabriella.

And it was driving Troy insane.

The waiting and the not knowing were the worst parts. Troy pestered Sharpay every day, asking her if she'd heard anything from Kate. It was the same answer every day – no. However, Troy wasn't the only member of the gang who consistently asked Sharpay about Kate. He just asked the most frequently.

The other awful part was that Troy had no contact with Gabriella at all. He had no way of knowing whether or not she was alright. He'd had terrible nightmares of standing hopelessly while he watched Gabriella suffer endlessly. He'd wake up panting and sweating, frantically searching for his phone only to realize that making contact with her would be impossible. Those were the nights he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. He'd turn on his light and his computer and he would write Gabriella an e-mail he knew she would probably never see. Then, he'd log onto his Facebook and look through his pictures of Gabriella and their adventures together. Troy would catch himself chuckling at a memory or staring a picture for a little too long. Before he knew it his alarm would be beeping loudly and he would have to start getting ready for school.

Kate had said it might be 'a while' before she could find Gabriella's grandmother, but what the hell did a while mean? Was that a few weeks? A few months? A few years?

Troy wasn't sure how much longer he could wait. There had been many nights, especially recently in which Troy had seriously considered driving to North Carolina himself. The problem he ran into was figuring out what he would do once he arrived there. Instead he stayed in Albuquerque worried, anxious and hopeless.

--

The gang was scattered around cafeteria after school. For various reasons each teenager had ended up staying after. The cafeteria wasn't silent but there certainly wasn't the usual loud chatter that was present during lunch time.

It was only when the quick clicks of heels could be heard that the quiet aura was broken. Soon Sharpay came into sight, strutting as fast as she could (Sharpay Evans did not run) into the cafeteria. She marched up to Taylor, who was conveniently sitting with Kelsi, and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Find everyone and tell them to meet in the drama room. Now." Sharpay instructed.

Taylor looked up from her Chemistry work, confused, "What's going on?"

"I'll explain in a bit. Just do it." And with that Sharpay turned on her heel and walked out of the cafeteria.

Taylor looked back to Kelsi, who simply shrugged and gathered her stuff from the table, before she stood up. Taylor rolled her eyes and followed suit. Both girls walked around the cafeteria to let other members of the gang know that they would be meeting in the drama room momentarily.

10 minutes later the gang was gathered in the drama room talking loudly and angrily, all extremely confused. Suddenly Sharpay opened the door and walked inside the room. Immediately seven sets of eyes turned and started firing questions at Sharpay.

"What are we doing here?"

"Why couldn't be just stay in the cafeteria?"

"I was working hard and you interrupted my concentration!"

"Why won't you just tell us?"

"Why'd you have to pick the drama room, it smells weird in here!"

"Yeah, and there are creepy figures in here!"

Sharpay, growing impatient with the constant questions, backed up slightly and opened the door slowly before she slammed it shut, causing a loud bang to ripple through the room. Silence fell over the gang instantaneously.

"Thank you. Now that I can hear myself think I can explain what's going on," Sharpay took a breath and smiled widely, "I have a number." She said proudly, holding up a slip of paper. A gasp of happiness filled the room as the teenagers realized what this meant, before more questions were fired at Sharpay.

"What's her name?"

"Did you talk to her?"

"When did Kate call you?"

Sharpay held up her hand, looking sternly at the group letting them know it was time to be quiet again.

"_Her name_ is Mariana Rivera Ortiz.I haven't spoken to her yet, Kate just called me no more than 15 minutes ago," Sharpay explained. "I was thinking that we should all do it together," she suggested.

"Now?" Kelsi clarified.

"There's no time like the present," Ryan offered.

"Woah, woah, wait a second!" Taylor held her hand up, "What are we even going to say to her?"

"We're going to tell her exactly what's going on," Troy said firmly.

"The sooner the better," Zeke agreed, nodding for Sharpay to make the call. She was just about to start dialing when Chad gasped,

"Wait! If she's from Spain, won't she speak Spanish?"

Sharpay clapped her hands, "Good Chad. You know some geography," she mocked sarcastically.

"Wait, for once my man does have a point. What if she doesn't speak English?" Taylor questioned.

"There are 4 people here who take Spanish," Sharpay reminded Taylor, "I think we'll get by."

"Just dial the number Sharpay," Troy instructed, growing slightly impatient. This seemed like his only glimpse of hope at getting Gabriella back safe in his arms and the questions were just getting in the way.

The questions ended and the only sound that could be heard within the room was the sound of the dial tone of Sharpay's Blackberry.

_Ring…Ring…Ring… _

"_Hola, Rosa está hablando. ¿De parte de quién?" __**(Hello, Rosa speaking. Who is this?)**__ an older feminine voice spoke politely. _

"Hola, soy Sharpay. Podría hablar con Señora Ortiz," **(Hello, I'm Sharpay. ****Could I speak with Mrs. Ortiz?)** Sharpay asked, putting on a flawless Spanish accent. While Sharpay's Spanish grammar was usually flawed, she was able to speak the language with an accent like a native born Spanish speaker.

"_Mariana? Claro que sí. __Un momento por favor."__** (Mariana? Of course. Just a moment please)**_

Sharpay looked at her friends and smiled happily. They were getting somewhere. They were finally getting somewhere. She looked at Troy, who looked as though he had just seen the light at the end of the tunnel. It was only then did she wonder why she was the only one doing all the talking. Sharpay loved that fact that, in some ways, she held the power to getting Gabriella back. She felt important and needed, which was exactly how she loved to feel. On the other hand though, she felt it was important that other people be involved in speaking with Gabriella's grandmother. Maybe she should bow out gracefully and let Troy talk with Mariana. After all, Troy did know more about Gabriella than any other person in this room.

If you thought about it, what they were about to do was a little bit ridiculous. They were going to attempt to convince an elderly woman that her grandchildren were in danger half way around the world and that she was the only one who could help. It was going to take someone who knew Gabriella inside and out to convince Mariana.

"Troy," Sharpay whispered, "You're talking." Her voice was quiet but that didn't take away from the army-like tone it had. Before Troy even had a chance to respond a soft, kind voice came over the line.

"_Hola."_

"Hola Señora Ortiz, me llamo Sharpay. Mi amigo Troy necesita hablar con Ud. sobre tu nietos," **(Hello Mrs. Ortiz, my name is Sharpay. ****My friend Troy needs to talk to you about your grandchildren) **Sharpay explained before she passed the phone to Troy.

"Hola Señora," Troy greeted.

"_Tú conoces mis nietos; Gabriella, Lucas y Lily?" __**(You know my grandchildren; Gabriella, Lucas and Lily?)**__ The older woman asked in disbelief. _

"Sí, muy bien," **(Yes, very well)** Troy assured her.

_Mariana gasped quietly, "Aye. Podría hablar con ellos?"__**(Could I talk to them?)**__She asked excitedly. _

Troy sighed, "Ahora mismo? No. Pero con tu ayuda en el futuro, sí." **(Right now? No. But with your help in the future, yes.)**

"_Yo no entiendo. ¿Qué está pasando?" __**(I don't understand. What's happening?)**__ Mariana asked, her voice laced with concern. _

"La situación es muy complicada. Trataré explicar a tú con mi español limitado." **(The situation is very compicated. I'll try to explain to you with my limited spanish)**

"_If you're more comfortable speaking English, we can do that," Mariana offered with a thick Spanish accent. _

Troy's face lit up with surprise. He had been fully expecting to have to explain the complex situation in Spanish. This was going to be worlds easier in English.

"It'll be much easier for me. Will it be alright for you?"

"_Aye, don't worry Troy. My English is fine. I taught myself ages ago." _

Troy couldn't help but smile; already he could sense a similarity between Mariana and Gabriella.

"You are most definitely Gabriella's grandmother," Troy murmured just loud enough for Mariana to hear.

"_I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you," Mariana responded quietly. "Now, tell me about what's going on with my grandchildren."_

--

Three Days Later…

There was something about French class that always seemed to let Gabriella's mind drift to a different place. It could be the fact that she had French last period or that her class always seemed to be reviewing grammar points she had already mastered. Whatever the case, her mind was far from irregular conditional verbs.

Her mind had wandered to its usual place. Albuquerque. It seemed like it had been forever since she'd walked the halls of East High happily or danced joyfully around the field in Meade Memorial Park. Giving up contact with her friends had been exceedingly difficult, it broke her heart. Even though she'd become immune to the pain provided by bruises, scratches and cuts, the pain of a broken heart was so much more severe.

Gabriella sighed and thought about what her friends would be doing at this very moment. They'd still have a few periods left in the day because of the time difference. She could picture Taylor involved in an intense debate in English class while Kelsi furiously took notes, much too shy to share her actual opinion. Zeke would be concocting something delicious in international foods class. She could see Jason's confused face as he sat in Math class. Sharpay had her free period so she would be, undoubtedly, looking over her next musical's script with Ryan. Chad and Troy would be sitting in history cracking jokes to match those of the easy-going teacher.

She was thankful she could hear the laughter of her friends as they sat around the lunch table discussing their latest adventure. What worried her was that she was losing some of her other sense of her friends, most prominently, Troy. She could no longer remember the way his hands felt intertwined with hers or the way they gently caressed her cheek. She wasn't able to be comforted by his lingering scent anymore.

She closed her eyes in one last valiant attempt to remember his touch or his scent, but she had no such luck. Instead all she heard was the blaring sound of the final bell.

After gathering all her things from her locker Gabriella made her way outside to the front of the school to find her father's car. It was parked in its usual spot, right in front of the school. As she got closer to the car she noticed that Lily wasn't in the back with Lucas.

Concerned, she slid in the back seat instead of the front. Lucas looked absolutely terrified. Something was wrong. Very wrong. The car shot forward as soon as Gabriella shut the door.

"Where's Lily?" Gabriella asked anxiously.

"Your idiot of a sister fell off the fucking playground and hit her head hard," Tomas spat angrily.

"We were playing tag on the playground and Jeremy tagged her a little too hard and she lost her footing. It wasn't her fault!" Lucas defended.

"It doesn't make a difference. I still have to pay the bill because the school took her to the fucking hospital!"

Gabriella head's was spinning. Was going to the hospital a good thing or a bad thing? Obviously she wanted to make sure Lily was alright. She was well aware that a head injury could be really serious. However, the hospital was full of doctors who were trained to spot domestic abuse. One of the doctors was bound to see the signs; the bruises, the cuts, the scratches. Gabriella wasn't entirely sure how it worked at the hospital if a doctor suspected abuse, but she could only imagine that she, Lily and Lucas would be taken away from their father. Was that a bad thing? No. But it could be. As she had feared before, the risks of anyone finding out were too great and Gabriella was terrified of those possibilities.

Apparently her father had figured out the catastrophic events that could follow because of this hospital visit.

"We are going in and getting her out. You two say anything and I promise you your life will end," Tomas warned wickedly.

The rest of the car ride to the hospital was silent. Gabriella tried to comfort Lucas, who was obviously worried about what was to come, but the tension in the air was nearly unbearable. It was going to take a miracle for this not to be a disaster.

Finally, the car pulled up to Charlotte Hospital's entrance. Turning off the engine, Tomas turned back to look at his two children,

"Remember what I said," he reminded them.

Gabriella and Lucas followed their father into the hospital. After finding out which room Lily was in, the three made their way through the halls of the hospital until they came to the right examination room.

"You two stay out here," Tomas ordered. Lucas and Gabriella sat down in chairs just opposite the entrance to the room.

Tomas pushed open the door to the room just as a doctor was introducing himself to Lily.

"Ah, you must be Mr. Montez. My name is Dr. Fisher," the tall dark-haired man held out his hand for Mr. Montez to shake.

"It's nice to meet you. When can I take my daughter home?" Tomas asked shaking the doctor's hand.

"In a little bit. We're just waiting on the results of the CT scan, your daughter took quite a fall," Dr. Fisher explained, "While we're waiting though, I'd like to do a physical examination just to make sure everything is in order."

"I don't think that'll be necessary Doctor. Lily seems to be perfectly fine," Mr. Montez disputed calmly, motioning to Lily, who sat on the examination table.

"With all due respect, Mr. Montez, I think a physical examination would be beneficial to our evaluation of Lily. Besides, it is standard procedure," Dr. Fisher told Tomas. He was slightly surprised that this father seemed so anxious to get out of the hospital. "If you would just step outside." Dr. Fisher opened the door.

Mr. Montez walked towards Lily and pretended to hug her.

"Don't you dare say anything," he whispered darkly before he walked out of the room.

Dr. Fisher shut the door, before he turned back to Lily and smiled warmly.

"Before I forget to introduce her, this is Jessica. She's an intern here at the hospital and she'll be assisting me." Dr. Fisher motioned to the brunette, who stood near the corner of the room with a clipboard in hand.

Lily smiled slightly at Jessica, too afraid to show too much emotion.

Dr. Fisher made his way over to the table,

"So Miss Lily, I heard from your school nurse that you fell off the playground, but I never got the chance to ask you. I'm going to poke and prod you a little bit while you tell me what happened." This was a way to distract Lily while he examined her.

Lily breathed a little, so far she liked this doctor, "Well, some of the teachers let us have extra recess today because we just finished taking these tests Duke is administering for research. They were long and some of them were hard, so that was our reward. A bunch of kids and I were playing a huge game of tag," Lily explained, quite happily.

"Lie down for me," Dr. Fisher requested. Lily did as she was told and lay down on the table. "So what happened next?"

"Well, we were playing on the structure because it's more exciting that way. I was running past the top of the rock wall and Jeremy tagged me. Except he got me a little too hard so I lost my footing and the next thing I knew I was falling," she recalled as Dr. Fisher gently pressed on her stomach. Lily winced when he pushed down near the edge of her abdomen.

"Does this hurt?" Dr. Fisher asked, slightly surprised.

Lily's eyes widened as she realized her reaction probably wasn't the best idea, she shook her head, "No," she whispered.

Dr. Fisher nodded, but looked up at Jessica silently telling her to make note of it. "Do you remember what happened after that?"

"I remember hitting the ground and then everything went black. The next thing I knew Mrs. Kelly, the school nurse, and my brother were kneeling next to me. Then they brought me here."

"You have a brother?" Dr. Fisher questioned, as she motioned for Lily to sit up again.

Lily nodded, "Lucas is my twin brother. I also have an older sister named Gabriella."

As the doctor lifted up the back of Lily's shirt, so he could listen to her breathing, he noticed bruising and scars that were certainly not congruent with Lily's fall. They looked much older than some of the cuts on her arms, which had been caused by the fall. He was concerned; these looked to be injuries sustained from bashing into a wall or something.

"And do you get along well with them?" Dr. Fisher asked curiously.

"They're the best brother and sister a girl could ask for. I don't know what I would do without them," Lily answered sincerely.

Dr. Fisher smiled half heartedly; the genuine love for her siblings was lovely to see, but there was something terribly wrong in the Montez household. "Ok Lily, I'll be back in a few minutes, I'm just going to get the results of your CT scan. You can relax here, your brother and sister may even come in if you like, I think I saw them outside the room."

Lily nodded and Dr. Fisher motioned for Jessica to follow him out of the room. He needed her to get the CT scan; he had a phone call to make, a phone call to the Charlotte Police.

Within 15 minutes an investigator was sent to the hospital. Detective Campbell met Dr. Fisher and together they walked to the examination room that Lily was in.

As the pair approached the room they came across Mr. Montez sitting opposite the door.

He looked up, "Who is this?"

"This is Detective Campbell from the Charlotte police. She would like to ask Lily a few questions," Dr. Fisher explained.

"What's going on? Lily just fell, why are the police involved?" Tomas asked, playing innocent.

"Mr. Montez," Detective Campbell began, "Dr. Fisher noticed some of your daughter's injuries were not the result of the fall."

"What are you suggesting?" Tomas asked defensively, standing up.

"Dr. Fisher is concerned that these injuries may be the result of abuse, Mr. Montez," the detective answered bluntly.

"You cannot be serious! I would never hurt my own daughter!"

"I'm simply following protocol. If that's truly the case then you have nothing to worry about," Detective Campbell answered smoothly, "I would just like to speak with Lily alone."

Giving in, Tomas nodded and Detective Campbell crossed the hall and knocked twice before she entered the room.

Gabriella, Lucas and Lily were seated together on the examination table. When the door opened they looked curiously at the woman in the suit, who stood at the door.

"If it's alright with you guys, I'd like to talk to Lily alone," she requested.

Gabriella nodded and squeezed Lily's hand before she led Lucas out of the room.

Pulling up a chair, Detective Campbell sat opposite Lily.

"Hi Lily. My name is Sarah. I'd just like to talk to you," she explained kindly.

Lily nodded shyly. Now she was terrified. Who was this woman? Why did she want to talk to her?

"Tell me about yourself Lily. What's your favorite thing to do?" Sarah asked, trying to gain trust with the young girl.

"I really like art. Painting is my favorite," Lily answered quietly.

"That's great! Do you take classes?"

Lily shook her head, "I used to, but then when we came back to North Carolina, I had to stop."

"Why's that?" Sarah questioned.

Lily paused for a second, trying to come up with a lie. Telling Sarah the real reason would undoubtedly get her in trouble. "I didn't want to take classes anymore," she explained finally.

"Oh. Do you still paint in your spare time?"

"Only sometimes."

First red flag in Sarah's head, Lily was obviously hiding the real reason she stopped taking classes.

"So, what do you do instead?"

Lily fiddled nervously with her hair, "Not much really. I hang out with my brother and sister a lot."

"What about your parents?" Sarah probed.

Lilly gulped, "Uh, I haven't seen my mom since I was 4. My dad is, you know, like a dad." Lily tried her best to keep everything short and sweet, maybe Sarah wouldn't ask any more questions.

Sarah's eyes softened, "I'm sorry to hear about your mother. Tell me more about your father though. What do you guys like to do together?"

"On weekends we play games," Lily offered, hoping it was enough to stop Sarah's questions.

"What about during the week? Does he ever help you with your homework?"

Lily shook her head, "Not really, that's my sister Gabriella's job."

"Dr. Fisher told me that you're very close with your siblings, but do you ever fight with them?" Sarah asked, trying to work her way to finding out where the bruises and cuts had come from.

"I guess we bicker, but we don't really have anything to fight about," Lily admitted.

"Do you and your siblings ever fight with your dad?" Sarah questioned softly.

Lily quickly shook her head, "No."

The indirect method wasn't working so well. Sarah would have to try just asking the question more bluntly. She scooted her chair a little closer to Lily and gently placed her hands on Lily's knees.

"How'd you get those bruises on you back?" Sarah inquired gently.

Lily looked down at Sarah and for the first time noticed something shiny clipped on to her black pants. It was a badge, a police badge. Lily panicked as she realized that Dr. Fisher had seen the bruises on her back and connected the dots back to her father. That's why her father had been so adamant about her not saying anything to the Doctor. She was going to be in so much trouble because the police had been called.

"I fell," she answered curtly. Sarah tried to keep her face even, she'd been in this situation before. Kids were often too afraid to say anything and then it was nearly impossible to make a conviction. Dr. Fisher had noted to Sarah that the bruises and scratches and been the worst he'd seen in a long while. There was something serious going on in the Montez household and Sarah could feel Tomas Montez slipping away, but she refused to let that happen, not this time.

"Lily," Sarah coaxed gently, "If there is something bad happening at home, I can help you. I can help make you safe. I just need you to help me and tell me what's going on."

Lily fought back tears, she didn't believe Sarah. Where were they going to go if they were taken away from their father? What if he came and tracked them down? They'd never be safe.

"Nothing is happening," Lily whispered, "My dad loves us."

Just then there was a commotion outside and then the door was yanked open. An elderly woman stood in the doorway, with nurses trying to pull her back. Lily could see Gabriella behind all the nurses with her hand over her mouth in shock and glossy eyes. She could see her father yelling at some of the doctors to get the woman out of the way.

The woman's soft eyes met Lily's and immediately she recognized her from pictures Gabriella had shown her.

It was her grandmother.

Jumping off the table, Lily ran into the woman's arms. She didn't care that the pressure of the tight hug was irritating the bruises, she was just happy to be in the arms of her grandmother.

Gabriella watched from behind the nurses as Lily stayed wrapped in their grandmother's arms. She had tears falling from her eyes. Her grandmother had just given her reason to be hopeful. Her grandmother was the solution.

Her grandmother was a miracle.

* * *

**A/N: And there you have it. Things are going to get pretty intense for the Montez family – just a heads up. **

**I'm sorry if the Spanish translations aren't perfect. If anyone has corrections please PM me!**

**Thank you for reading! Please review!**


	28. Success

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: This was supposed to be up yesterday, but I went to post it and my internet was down. I was like are you kidding? So, here it is, bright and early (sort of). Enjoy…**

* * *

_Last Time…_

_The woman's soft eyes met Lily's and immediately she recognized her from pictures Gabriella had shown her. _

_It was her grandmother. _

_Jumping off the table, Lily ran into the woman's arms. She didn't care that the pressure of the tight hug was irritating the bruises, she was just happy to be in the arms of her grandmother. _

_Gabriella watched from behind the nurses as Lily stayed wrapped in their grandmother's arms. She had tears falling from her eyes. Her grandmother had just given her reason to be hopeful. Her grandmother was the solution. _

_Her grandmother was a miracle. _

Chapter Twenty Eight – Success 

The rest of that day had been a blur. Police officers, lawyers, doctors, child services had been surrounding Gabriella, Lucas and Lily since their grandmother had appeared. Gabriella had finally given in to her fears and told the police everything. She felt like she had no other choice. They all knew, especially after Dr. Fisher had examined Lucas and Gabriella as well, finding injuries similar to Lily's.

_Dr. Fisher opened the door to his office for Gabriella. She stepped timidly inside, already seeing Detective Sarah Campbell sitting in one of the two chairs in front of Dr. Fisher's desk. Dr. Fisher motioned for Gabriella to sit in the empty seat in front of his desk. _

_Gabriella felt Sarah's eyes locked on her. She looked around the large, packed office to try and avoid Sarah's gaze. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Dr. Fisher sit at his desk; she could feel his eyes on her now as well. _

"_Gabriella?" Dr. Fisher tried to get her attention. Gabriella, not wanting to be rude, turned her head to make eye contact with the doctor. _

"_Where are my brother and sister?" Gabriella asked quietly. A short while ago, they had all been together. Then Dr. Fisher had requested that he be able to examine Gabriella and Lucas. He'd examined Lucas first while Gabriella had waited in another room. After he had finished examining Gabriella Dr. Fisher had led her to his office. She'd assumed Lucas and Lily were going to be in the office, but now that she saw they weren't, she wondered where they were and what she was doing here._

"_They're with your grandmother," Sarah answered._

"_So why am I here?" Gabriella wondered aloud. _

"_We wanted to talk to you Gabriella, away from everyone else," Dr. Fisher explained. _

"_There is obviously something going on at home, Gabriella," Sarah said bluntly._

"_Everything is fine at home," Gabriella lied quietly as she looked down at Dr. Fisher's desk. She could hear both Sarah and Dr. Fisher sigh._

"_Gabriella, I have been a doctor for a long while. I know what domestic abuse looks like. I know what's going on at home," Dr. Fisher spoke seriously. _

"_With Dr. Fisher's reputation, he'll be able to give a strong testimony in court. If you give us your account we can make the case even stronger and it'll be easy for a lawyer to convince the jury to throw your father in jail," Sarah explained._

_Gabriella did her best to hold back the tears she knew were ready to fall. She believed Dr. Fisher, but there were still other worries plaguing in her mind. _

"_With your grandmother here now, she'll probably be able to gain custody," Sarah continued. Gabriella looked to Sarah, hopefully. Gabriella had hoped that her grandmother would be able to gain custody, but there was still something in Gabriella's brain that just wouldn't give in. _

"_Gabriella, aren't you concerned about the safety of your brother and sister? By not saying anything you're putting them in more danger. I know you're scared, but we are on your side. There are going to be a lot of people on your side, fighting for you," Dr. Fisher assured her. _

_Looking up at Dr. Fisher, Gabriella finally realized he was right. They were in too deep now. It was time to fight her father; for herself and for her brother and sister. Taking a deep breath she began,_

"_It's gotten worse over the years..."_

After telling Detective Campbell and Dr. Fisher everything, she had been taken to meet with Diana Miller, her grandmother's lawyer and Blake Allen, the child services officer. Gabriella had retold her story to both adults once again.

Finally, a judge had arrived at the hospital. Judge Santos had granted Mariana temporary custody deeming the current Montez household situation too dangerous. There would, of course, be a trial to finally decide where the Montez children would go, but for now it was in their best interest to be with their grandmother.

Eventually, Mariana had taken Gabriella, Lucas and Lily back to the hotel she was staying at. For the first time that afternoon, Gabriella was finally alone with her grandmother.

Lucas and Lily were exhausted so Gabriella whisked them off to bed. Despite their protests, she assured them that they'd get to see their grandma in the morning.

Gabriella walked out of bedroom Lucas and Lily were sleeping and found her grandmother making two cups of tea in the small hotel kitchen.

"Abuelita, aye no. Let me get the tea. You must be exhausted with jet-lag and traveling and everything," Gabriella protested

"Don't worry about the tea. Come here and give me a hug," Mariana held out her arms and Gabriella gladly found a place in her arms. Slowly pulling away from the embrace, Mariana let her hands linger on Gabriella's face, "I have missed you so much. Look how grown up you are, mi cielo. So beautiful and intelligent and caring."

Gabriella felt a few tears leak from her eyes at her grandmother's kind words.

"I've missed you too," Gabriella whispered, "How did you…how did you know? To come here I mean? And why now after all these years?"

"Why don't we sit down," Mariana suggested reaching to pick up one of the cups of tea. Gabriella nodded and picked up the other cup of tea. The two women sat at the small table near the kitchen.

"All those years ago, when you stopped visiting and your mother stopped calling, I was confused. I wondered why I hadn't heard from her in weeks. So, one day I called house and your father picked up. I asked to speak with Maria and your father growled, 'she left. She walked out on us,' and hung up the phone. I didn't know what to think. I called back frequently hoping that you and Lucas and Lily would still be able to visit, but he would have no such thing. After a while he just stopped answering my calls. When your friends called me and told me about what was going on with you guys, I jumped on the first plane I could," Mariana explained.

"My friends? They called you?" Gabriella asked in disbelief. Mariana nodded,

"You have wonderful friends Gabriella. I've spoken to them a few times and they all seem to care about you a great deal."

"I hurt them though," Gabriella murmured, looking dejectedly at the table in front of her.

Mariana shook her head and placed a finger under her granddaughter's chin, so she could make eye contact with Gabriella, "Your friends are concerned about you Gabriella, they want to see you safe again. Especially that Troy."

"You spoke to Troy?" Gabriella whispered, feeling her heart flutter at simply the sound of his name.

"I did. He was the one who told me about everything. My friends thought I was crazy for jumping on a plane because a sixteen year old boy, who I had never met before, told me to. But there was just something about the way he spoke about you, it was just so genuine. I couldn't help but believe him," she recalled.

Gabriella could feel a smile tugging at her lips. The way her grandmother was speaking about Troy, she just couldn't help but be proud to call Troy her boyfriend.

"Aye, and that Sharpay. She is quite stubborn, but so generous," Mariana commented, "I tried to tell her I would be able to get the money together for a lawyer, but she insisted on paying for the lawyer and this hotel."

Gabriella shook her head and sighed. "I can work overtime and then I'll be able to repay her," she mumbled.

"Mi cielo, no more worrying about things. You've had to worry too much. Everything is going to be alright now," Mariana assured her.

For the first time in a very long time, Gabriella actually believed her.

--

Saturdays had always been Troy's favorite day of the week. Like any other teenager, on Saturdays Troy slept late, sometimes very late. Though he wasn't like Chad, who always slept until at least 1 in the afternoon, he certainly enjoyed sleeping until 11 or so.

Troy wasn't the heaviest sleeper, especially in the morning, so when his phone started buzzing from his bedside table, he groaned. Rolling away from the noise Troy ignored the buzzing. He let out a sigh of relief once the buzzing stopped. However, seconds after the buzzing stopped, it started again. Groaning again, Troy rolled back towards the phone so he could see who in the world would be calling. He grabbed the phone and squinted his eyes open so he could read the caller ID.

No name popped up and he didn't recognize the number. It didn't even look like an Albuquerque number.

He pressed reject, so the annoying buzzing would stop and put the phone back on the table. Just as he set the phone down, the buzzing started _again_. Grumbling, Troy grabbed the phone and flipped it open,

"Hello?" Troy yawned.

"_Troy! Hi!" a familiar young voice spoke excitedly. _

Troy furrowed his eyebrows, he recognized this voice, but from where? Shaking his head, to try and wake himself up, Troy sat up in his bed. As his brain woke up, it started going through all the people he knew, trying to match a voice to the one he was hearing. Finally, he connected the voice as well as the out of Albuquerque number,

"Lily!" he exclaimed, sitting up a little bit straighter. "How are you? How is your brother? Your sister? What about your grandmother? Did she find you guys alright? Where's your father?" Troy rambled, only stopping when he heard Lily giggling,

"_I told you he'd want to talk to us."_

"_Yeah, yeah, whatever," Lucas responded nonchalantly. "I was just trying to make sure he didn't kill us for waking him up at 9 am on a Saturday morning."_

Troy glanced at the clock, only to discover his clock read 7:02.

"Uh, actually it's more like 7 over here," he corrected.

"_Oh! Shoot! We totally forgot about the time difference! I'm really sorry Troy," Lily apologized, " Waking you up at 7 is much much worse than waking you up at 9. If you want we can call you back in a few hours," she offered. _

Troy chuckled, "Nah, it's alright, I'm up now. Besides I'm glad to hear from you guys."

"_That's what we hoped," Lily admitted, "We decided you deserve to know what's going on over here."_

"Is everything alright?" Troy asked. The way Lily had phrased her last statement made Troy slightly nervous. What if everything hadn't worked out according to plan?

"_Everything is great Troy. We're living in a hotel until the hearing. Things were kinda crazy yesterday at the hospital, but the Judge sent us to live with Abuelita so we're safe," Lucas explained. _

Troy nodded, even though he knew Lily and Lucas couldn't see him, and took a deep breath. They were safe; safe with Mariana. He felt relief wash through him, that was until he realized Lucas had said hospital. His breathing hitched and immediately thoughts of the worst shot through his mind.

"Woah, wait, hospital? Why were you at the hospital?" he asked, this voice calmer than he had expected it to be, but still concerned.

"_Troy relax. Everyone was alright," Lily assured him. _

"_Lily blacked out because she was pushed off the playground," Lucas answered curtly. _

"Are you alright?" Troy asked fretfully.

"_I'm fine. In a way it's actually a good thing Jeremy Higgins pushed me. Dr. Fisher, the doctor who examined me and found my other injuries, was the one who convinced Gabriella to confess," Lily explained. _

Dr. Fisher was officially Troy's favorite doctor. Convincing Gabriella was probably not an easy task, so Troy was thankful that Dr. Fisher was persuasive enough to do so. The only thing that worried Troy was the fact that Lily's injuries were severe enough that a doctor could see them and identify them as abuse easily enough. Troy had never seen any of the injuries inflicted by Tomas Montez (whether or not that was because the injuries had faded or that Gabriella had just gotten good at hiding them, Troy didn't know) so the only images Troy could form were the worst case scenario.

"I'm just glad you're all alright," Troy confessed.

"_We are as well. We have to thank you Troy, for not giving up on us," Lucas confessed sincerely. _

"_And I don't think we ever got to say this to you, but thank you for making Gabriella so happy. It'll be nice to see her happy again," Lily explained. _

Troy felt a proud smile form on this face. He was glad he had been able to affect the entire family so positively.

"You are more than welcome. Speaking of Gabriella though, is she there?" Troy asked curious. He couldn't help it, really. He hadn't spoken to her in ages and his heart ached to hear her voice.

"_She's still sleeping. It's actually a miracle she isn't awake yet, usually she's up at 5 or 6," Lily answered, "We could go wake her up though, if you really want to talk to her," she offered. _

" No, no, no. Don't do that. Let her sleep," Troy insisted. Though he was desperate to speak to her, he certainly didn't want to wake her up if she'd been sleep deprived. "Just get her to call me when she gets up alright?" Troy requested.

"_We will Troy," Lucas promised."We have to go though, Abuelita is calling us for breakfast."_

"Ok, say hello for her from me, will you?" Troy asked.

"_We will." Lily assured him, "Thanks again for everything Troy."_

"_And we're sorry for waking you up," Lucas added. _

Troy chuckled, "It's ok. It was good to talk to you guys. I'll talk to you soon."

"_Definitely. Bye Troy." _

"Bye"

The dial tone rung through Troy's ear as he held the phone to his face for a few moments after the call had ended.

There was no way he was going to be able to go back to sleep. He'd never been so relieved in his life. Gabriella was safe. Though, for the first time in a long while he didn't feel worried, he was so excited that sleep just wasn't an option. He couldn't wait for Gabriella to call him.

Re-opening his phone, Troy quickly sent a text message to the entire gang:

_Success. _

--

Gabriella's tired eyes opened slowly as the bright sunlight filled the room. Once her eyes were fully open, she let out a quiet yawn. Gabriella slowly pushed herself up so she was sitting against the headboard. She glanced around the empty room looking for a clock. When her eyes landed on the red digital numbers, her eyes bulged out of their sockets. It was 10:37!

Gabriella couldn't believe it, she never slept this late. Oh God, and she'd left her grandmother to look after Lucas and Lily. She'd only been in the US for a day and already Gabriella was pawning off her siblings to her grandmother. She scrambled to get out of bed and quickly ran a brush through her brown curly locks to tame them a little bit. She made her way into the kitchen and living room area of the hotel suite.

Mariana, Lucas and Lily were sitting at the table playing some sort of card game. Mariana glanced over and noticed Gabriella walking into the room.

"Gabriella!" she exclaimed warmly, "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"I slept wonderfully actually," she admitted, "I'm so sorry though I-" Gabriella was cut off my her grandmother who held up her hand,

"No. It's alright mi cielo."

"But-" Gabriella tried to interject.

"I'm here now Gabriella. You don't have to worry anymore, relax. You deserved a nice lie in," Mariana assured her.

Gabriella nodded. There was a weird feeling that passed through her. She knew that her grandmother was here to help take care of them but, she couldn't help but feel like she was still responsible for Lucas and Lily. After all, she had been for 10 years. She would have to get used to the feeling.

"Oh! Gabi! Guess who we called?" Lily questioned excitedly.

Gabriella shook her head, "I don't know. Who?"

"Troy!" she grinned.

There it was again, his name. She felt those familiar butterflies fluttering in her stomach just at the mention of his name. She missed him so much.

She felt kind of flustered trying to come up with something to say. It wasn't that she didn't know _what_ to say, it was just that there were too many questions she wanted to ask. So she asked the most broad of questions she could,

"What did he say?"

"Well, he said he was excited to hear from us," Lucas answered.

"_And_ he wanted you to call him back, " Lily divulged.

"When?" Gabriella questioned. Immediately afterwards she mentally slapped herself. That was a stupid question, but what else was she supposed to say?

"Now!" Lily encouraged.

"Now?" Gabriella repeated. Now there was a stupid answer. What was wrong with her this morning? Was she nervous? Yes. That was it. She was nervous about calling Troy. What if he didn't want to talk to her? Or what if everything was different?

Mariana sensed her granddaughter's anxiety. She stood up from the table and walked to Gabriella,

"Like I said last night, that boy cares a lot about you. Don't worry," Mariana encouraged, squeezing Gabriella's hand.

Gabriella nodded and turned back to go into her room. Sitting on the bed, she pulled the phone closer to her. Lifting the phone off the hook, she carefully dialed Troy's number. Swallowing, Gabriella put the phone to ear as she let it ring.

_Ring…_

Her breathing hitched as the phone continued to ring.

Ring…

"_Hello," Troy's warm voice answered. _

As soon as Troy answered the phone all the nerves melted away. His voice had instantly calmed her, as it always had been able to. Gabriella felt this calm wash over her that only Troy had been able to bring.

"_Hello?" Troy repeated, this time sounding confused. _

"Hi," Gabriella replied meekly.

"_Brie?" _

"HI Troy," she confirmed.

"_You have no idea how good it feels to hear your voice," Troy confessed. _

"I wouldn't bet on that," Gabriella countered.

_Troy laughed softly, before he let out a content sigh, "I miss you so much."_

"I miss you too Troy." Gabriella felt guilty hearing Troy's pain stricken voice. She knew it was her fault she'd hurt deeply, by not writing to him, "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"_It's ok. You're safe now and that's all that matters."_

"Thank you. Thank you for not giving up on me Troy, not giving up on us. You really are amazing," Gabriella praised.

"_I'm not willing to lose you Brie. I love you too much to let you go," he confessed. _

Gabriella smiled; it felt so good to hear him utter those 3 fantastic words: I love you. "I love you too Troy."

"_So how do you feel?" Troy asked curiously. _

Gabriella stretched her legs up and put them on the bed, so she could lie back. "I feel relieved, I feel hopeful, I feel kinda nervous too. I just – I don't know what to expect for the future. It's so uncertain and I just hope everything works out ok," Gabriella confessed truthfully.

"_Everything will work itself out. No judge in their right mind will send you back to your father. Soon you'll be back in my arms_," _Troy assured her._

"Mmmm, I hope so," Gabriella murmured. "So, what about you Troy? What have you been up to?"

As Troy explained how life in Albuquerque had been over the last month, Gabriella felt herself slip back into her old ways. She felt like Troy was only a few minutes away and they were having one of their late night chats. Both teenagers cracked jokes as their conversation continued. Gabriella had that wonderful feeling in the pit of her stomach from laughing so hard. Her stomach hurt from laughing, but it was a pain she didn't mind and instead relished.

The pair spent hours on the phone simply chatting easily about school, friends and the future. Unlike some of their more serious conversations, this one was easy and lighthearted.

* * *

**A/N: So, I didn't really like the way I ended it. What did you think? I know I'm already a terrible updater, but I don't know how long the next update will be. I'm leaving for the UK on Friday and I'll try to write while I'm away, but it's hard to write with my entire family running around. **

**Spanish translations:**

**Abuelita: Grandma.**

**Mi cielo: it literally translates to "my sky or my heaven" but it's like a pet name, like saying darling or sweetie. **

**Please review!**


	29. The Storm

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: Ok, ok. Don't kill me, please don't kill me. I know it has been a ridiculously long time, but this chapter….oh this chapter…. a) it was crazy hard to write, b) I got back from vacation and realized I hadn't written a single word and c) I have been so busy I sometimes forget it's summer. Nevertheless, hopefully, you all still remember me and still care enough to read. So, enjoy…**

_Last Time…_

_As Troy explained how life in Albuquerque had been over the last month, Gabriella felt herself slip back into her old ways. She felt like Troy was only a few minutes away and they were having one of their late night chats. Both teenagers cracked jokes as their conversation continued. Gabriella had that wonderful feeling in the pit of her stomach from laughing so hard. Her stomach hurt from laughing, but it was a pain she didn't mind and instead relished. _

_The pair spent hours on the phone simply chatting easily about school, friends and the future. Unlike some of their more serious conversations, this one was easy and lighthearted. _

Chapter Twenty Nine – The Storm

The bright sun did not shine through the window like Gabriella had been waiting for since 5 am. She had been lying awake for hours, starring at the ceiling, the wall, the clock, anything but the inside of her eyelids.

Today was the day of her father's trial. The day her entire life could change for either the worse or the better. In an instant her entire world could fall into shambles so much worse than it had been before. It would have been impossible for her to sleep through the entire night.

Gabriella sighed, there was no way it had only been a few minutes since she last looked at the clock. She rolled over and glanced quickly at the bright red numbers, 7:54.

_Good,_Gabriella thought, _It's almost eight o'clock. _She smiled happily to herself, she must have fallen asleep for some brief period of time. She closed her eyes, but they quickly snapped open. How could it possibly be almost 8 am and there be no sun in the sky?

Confused, Gabriella got out of bed and walked to the window so she could examine the sky. It turned out that the reason the bright sun didn't not sting her eyes as it usually did was not because the sun hadn't risen, but that there were large, dark clouds hiding it.

There was definitely a storm brewing.

--

An hour later she sat in the back of a car between her brother and sister. Both their heads rested on Gabriella's shoulder as Gabriella stared straight ahead. She could tell they were both anxious, even scared about the day ahead of them. As their older sister, Gabriella wished she could find the right words to comfort them, to put them at easy. But she couldn't, because she didn't have the right words.

The rain pattered on the roof of the car as they drove through the streets of Charlotte. The sky was still gray and miserable. _This has to be some sort of sign,_ Gabriella decided, _and a bad one at that._ Bad things always seemed to happen on rainy days.

Gabriella felt the car come to a stop in the parking lot of the court house. Though she tried to hide it, she could feel her breath hitch and her heartbeat quicken. Lucas pushed open the door and climbed out first, Gabriella followed after him and raised her large black umbrella over her and Lucas' head, shielding their clothes from the down pour of rain, which had picked up considerably. Lily walked around the car, from the other side, with her grandmother under another black umbrella. The four walked silently into the court house to have one final meeting with their lawyer.

--

"For the record, please state your name, age and occupation," Diana Miller, Mariana's Lawyer, requested of her first witness.

"My name is Doctor Zachary Fisher, I'm 47 years old and I work as the head pediatrician at Charlotte Hospital," the dark haired man answered.

"And how long have you worked as a pediatrician, Dr. Fisher?" Diana asked.

"Officially?"

Diana nodded, "Yes, excluding med school, your internship and residency, how long have you been a doctor?"

"18 years."

"So it's fair to say you're an expert in children's medicine?"

"I'd like to think so," Dr. Fisher answered, chuckling slightly.

"Can you please explain to the court what happened on March 27th?"

"Well, I had just finished rounds on another patient when I was paged about a young girl, who had blacked out after falling off the playground," Dr. Fisher began. "When I arrived nurses were already dressing her injuries. Since she had fallen from such a great height, I checked to make sure she could remember her name, her age, and where she went to school. After Lily Montez recited her own name, age and school, I checked her reflexes. Once it was established that they were all fine, I ordered a CT scan, just to double check everything was alright. You can never be too careful with children."

"A CT scan?" Diana interrupted, feigning confusion, so that Dr. Fisher could explain to the jury what it was.

"A CT head scan, like the one I ordered, is used to detect any internal bleeding, skull fractures or brain defects. It's basically used so we can see inside the head without cutting it open," Dr. Fisher explained.

"Thank you. And after the CT scan?"

"While the scan was processing I went back to Lily's room to do a full physical examination. Just as I was properly introducing myself to Lily, Mr. Montez walked in. Mr. Montez seemed extremely anxious to leave the hospital with his daughter immediately. He, unlike most parents, didn't welcome the idea of a full physical examination, which I found strange – like he was hiding something."

"Objection your honor!" Katrina Alexander, the defense lawyer, rose to her feet, "Speculation. Dr. Fisher is not an expert in psychology."

"Sustained. Dr. Fisher's last statement will be struck from the record and the jury will disregard it. Continue Dr. Fisher," Judge Milano.

"I started my examination and as I lifted the back up her shirt up, so I could feel her heartbeat with my stethoscope, I noticed a lot of bruising and scarring that looked much older than the injuries she had received from the fall."

"What do you think could have caused these injuries?" Mrs. Miller asked.

"In my opinion, they were the result of being pushed into a wall or something along those lines," Dr. Fisher replied.

"What about Lily's two siblings? Did you examine them as well?" Mrs. Miller questioned.

"Yes, I examined Gabriella and Lucas. Both Lucas and Gabriella exhibited similar injuries to their sister's."

"What kind of injuries?" Diana pressed. She wanted Dr. Fisher to paint a picture of battered children for the jury. To make them feel sympathy for the Montez children.

"Severe bruising and scarring on the back as well as bruising in the shape of a hand around the upper arm, as if the child was grabbed tightly. All three were thinner than other children their age, as if they'd been neglected food sometimes. I asked the oldest child, Gabriella, to remove her makeup and I found bruising on her cheeks, as if she'd been slapped, scars on her face and dark circles under her eyes, which are present in people who suffer from sleep deprivation. She also had scaring on her forearms, which looked to me like defensive wounds," Dr. Fisher explained, using his hands to show the size of injuries and their whereabouts.

"What do these injuries mean?" Diana probed.

"They mean that someone has been abusing all three Montez children." Dr. Fisher's voice remained even and very serious.

"And in your opinion, who is cable of producing such injuries?"

"Based on the size of the injuries, someone much larger than all three of the children and due to the number of injuries, someone who is around them a lot of the time," Dr. Fisher began, "So really that only leaves their father, Tomas Montez."

"No further questions." Diana said simply, walking back to her seat.

Gabriella watched as her father's lawyer got up from her seat and started to pace in front of Dr. Fisher, picking apart his testimony. She tried not to listen to the lawyer as she questioned his credibility and his examinations.

She could hear the weather outside intensify as Diana stood up from her chair to make an objection to the Katrina Alexander questions. Gabriella held her breath as she waited for Judge Milano to make his decision. Diana's objection was overruled and the defense lawyer continued with her harsh questioning.

Dr. Fisher hesitated.

"Answer the question Dr. Fisher. How do you know for sure that Mr. Montez is responsible for his children's injuries?" Katrina pressed.

Dr. Fisher sighed, "I don't."

Katrina feigned surprise, "Oh," she raised her eyebrows, "So, it could have been any person larger than say, 5'3''?"

Dr. Fisher looked defeated, "In theory? Yes."

"Thank you." Katrina smirked before taking her seat again.

The wind from the intense storm outside whistled loudly as Dr. Fisher walked down from the stand. He looked sympathetically towards Gabriella, Lucas and Lily as he took his seat a few rows behind them.

--

Gabriella patted her eyes with a tissue to dry the tears that had leaked after her heartbreaking testimony. Though she had replayed her entire story, starting from the night her mother left to the day she had confessed everything to Dr. Fisher and Detective Campbell, she had managed to keep herself somewhat together. There had been a few tears and watery eyes throughout but she was glad she hadn't broken down completely in front of the entire court.

She took a deep breath as she watched Katrina walk towards her. Her striking black power suit with a red blouse made her look extremely intimidating. On top of that, she was wearing black stilettos which made her tower over Gabriella.

Though she'd tried not to watch Katrina attempt to destroy the prosecution's argument by trying to find loop holes in witnesses' testimony, Gabriella couldn't help it. She'd watched the other witnesses as Katrina had brutally questioned them. All of the witnesses seemed to be able to remain calm for most of the questioning, but somehow Katrina would find some tiny hole in their testimony. Gabriella had seen the look on all of the witnesses' faces when each one realized what Katrina was doing.

"So, Ms. Montez," Katrina began kindly.

"You can call me Gabriella," Gabriella insisted.

"Ok. So, Gabriella, how old are you?" she asked.

"I'm 16," Gabriella answered.

Katrina raised her eyebrows, "Oh wow, that's awfully young to be taking care of two children all on your own. Isn't it?"

"I managed alright," Gabriella answered quickly.

"And 16 is also awfully young to start lying, isn't it?" Katrina continued.

Gabriella looked confused, "I don't know what you're talking about," she answered truthfully.

"Gabriella," Katrina stated, her tone changing drastically, "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Gabriella was taken aback by Katrina's suddenly harsh tone. At first, the woman hadn't been as harsh as Gabriella had prepared herself for, but on the 3rd question everything changed.

"You took your siblings with you and ran away from home. Are you telling me that you lied to no one on your journey to Albuquerque?"

"Well, I…" Gabriella looked down at her hands.

"Answer the question Ms. Montez," Judge Milano encouraged.

"Only when I had to," Gabriella admitted quietly.

Katrina smirked, "So you did lie. So why should the jury believe _any _of the testimony you've just given?"

"Because that was all true! I did what I had to do to try to keep my siblings safe. Why would I lie about being abused by my father?" Gabriella questioned angrily.

"I'm asking the questions Gabriella," Katrina reminded her. "How many times did you lie Gabriella?"

Gabriella shook her head, "I don't remember. They just came out." Gabriella's voice was quiet.

Katrina smirked, "My point exactly. The defense rests."

A bolt of lightning struck through the sky, brightening the court room instantly. Soon after a loud clap of thunder rattled the building as the rain continued to pound down on the roof top.

Gabriella managed to get down from her chair on the witness stand. Her grandmother gave her a reassuring smile. She knew hadn't done wonderfully on the stand and for that she was slightly miffed with herself.

Diana had warned her that Katrina would ask her the exact questions she did, but she said that hopefully the jury would believe Gabriella's tale, that they would see the truth in her eyes. As she took her seat again, Gabriella took a deep breath and waited as the next witness was called up.

--

"My name is Stephanie Wilcox. I am 29 years old and I'm Lily's teacher," the dark haired woman introduced herself.

"And what grade do you teach?" Diana asked, building background.

"5th grade."

"Can you tell us about Lily Montez?"

"Lily came to my class in the middle of the year, in January. She was quiet, but very bright. She's also extremely creative. Right off the bat, I noticed that she kept to herself a lot of the time and she usually played with her brother, Lucas, at recess. After awhile I started to notice she always seemed exhausted. Concerned, I called home," Stephanie explained.

"And what happened when you called home?" Diana probed.

"Lily's father answered and when I expressed my concerns he told me Lily had a sleeping problem, that he would provide me with a doctor's note."

"Did he?"

"Yes. The next day Lily walked in with a doctor's note explaining her condition. After that, things seemed to be getting better until one day when I noticed an odd looking bruise on her arm. I didn't think anything of it at first – I teach 5th grade, kids come into my class battered from running around all the time. But then as I began to pay more attention, I noticed them more often and in more places. The bruises were beginning to look less and less like an accident and more and more like something was going on at home. I even spoke to Mr. Melendez, Lucas' teacher and he had been noticing the same things. The bruises combined with the sleep problem, led us to believe something was going on at home. We were going to report it to the principal, but then Lily fell off the playground and the doctor beat us to it," Mrs. Wilcox finished.

"Who did you believe had caused the injuries?"

"Mr. Montez, Lucas and Lily's father."

"What was he like?" Diana asked, feigning curiosity.

"I rarely spoke to Mr. Montez. There were only two times I made contact with him. The first time was over the phone when I expressed my concerns about his daughter. The other time was during a parent-teacher conference. At first he wasn't intent on coming, but our school has a policy that the teacher must meet with each student's parent, or parents, at least once during the school year, so eventually he came. The one thing that really struck me was there was a strong smell of alcohol on his breath when he came to meet with me. He wasn't drunk, but the smell was definitely there."

"What does that mean to you?" the prosecutor asked.

"He is an alcoholic," Stephanie answered simply.

"Objection!" Katrina rose to her feet, "The witness is not an expert in alcoholism!"

"If you let me ask the next question, the witness will prove herself somewhat of an expert," Diana tried to convince the judge.

"Overruled, but Mrs. Miller if the court does not find Mrs. Wilcox's explanation viable, it will be stricken from the record," Judge Milano warned.

"Yes your honor," Diana nodded politely, before she turned back to Stephanie, "How do you know that to be true?"

"My mother and father were both alcoholics. I know what an alcoholic's breath smells like," Stephanie answered strongly.

Diana looked up at the Judge to make sure he approved. The Judge nodded. With an unnoticeable smile Diana continued.

"Do you still believe Mr. Montez is responsible for his children's injuries?" Diana asked.

"Yes," Stephanie answered quickly.

"Why?"

Stephanie paused, before her eyes softened and she began, "Because, when Lily first came to me, she was quiet and afraid, but in the past 2 months, since she has been living with her grandmother, Lily Montez is a completely different girl. She raises her hand in class, she plays with other kids during recess, she's just vibrant. Most of all, I haven't seen a single new bruise since she fell off that playground."

Diana couldn't help but smile, "The prosecution rests."

--

Gabriella sat in the hallway drinking terrible coffee, with her brother, her sister and her grandmother as they waited for the jury to finish deliberating. The trial had been fairly short – the defense had only a few witnesses, a coworker of Tomas Montez, a different doctor and a neighbor. All of whom hadn't _really _been fantastic witnesses. Diana had been able to get some more proof out of them for the prosecution.

The thunder had stopped during Stephanie's testimony and had just started again now, louder than before. The rain was louder as well, pounding down on the roof. Gabriella watched as the sky lit up brightly with each bolt of lightning that split the sky.

She looked back as she heard heels coming towards them, sure enough Diana Miller was headed their way.

"The jury is ready," she said quickly.

Gabriella sucked in her breath. She couldn't believe it was finally time.

Somehow, she wasn't sure how, she found herself back in the courtroom, sitting in the same seat she had been before. She looked at the jury, but their faces were impossible to read, but she was never really a good face reader.

She smoothed her skirt over and over as she waited for the court to file in and for the jury to bring in their decision.

"Will the defendant please rise," Gabriella held her breath. She couldn't breathe. This was it. This was the most important sentence in her life. The sentence that would decide her future. " The jury finds Mr. Tomas Montez guilty of child abuse and neglect and sentences him to 7 years in jail with mandatory alcohol abuse recovery sessions."

"Court dismissed." Judge Milano banged his gavel twice.

Gabriella finally exhaled. It was over. It was finally over. She was so overwhelmed with happiness that she wasn't quite sure what to do. Should she jump up and down screaming? Or should she cry?

Before she knew what was happening Lily threw her arms around Gabriella and Lucas quickly followed. She didn't dare look at her father, who was being handcuffed in preparation to be taken away. Instead, she closed her eyes and hugged Lily and Lucas tighter.

Soon she felt another pair of arms wrapping around her. Opening her eyes, Gabriella saw that her grandmother had joined the embrace.

"Thank you," Gabriella murmured.

"You're safe now. You're all safe." Mariana whispered, kissing her grandchildren's hair.

After a few more minutes, Mariana pulled away from the embrace,

"We just have one final thing to take care of. Come with me."

Gabriella nodded and took Lucas and Lily's hands, squeezing them, before they followed their grandmother.

In the hall, Mariana found Diana, who led them down another hall until they came to Judge Milano's office.

Diana knocked twice before Judge Milano allowed them to enter his office.

His office was large, with a great desk, which he sat behind, at the back of the office. There were two chairs in front of the desk, and a sofa near the door. The walls were lined with bookshelves, filled with books, magazines and documents. Katrina Alexander was already seated in one of chairs.

"Mrs. Ortiz, please, take a seat," Judge Milano offered politely, "Gabriella, Lucas, Lily, you may sit on the sofa if you like."

Gabriella nodded, and made her way to the sofa, to sit down, with Lucas and Lily on either side. Their grandmother sat in the other chair in front of the Judge's desk, while Diana simply stood behind her.

"I believe there is one final matter we need to take care of, custody of the children," Judge Milano began, "Mrs. Miller, would you like to begin?"

"Thank you your honor. My client requests full custody of her grandchildren," Diana explained simply.

"Does Mrs. Ortiz have the proper documentation to stay here in the United States, or will she request that she be allowed to take the children back to Spain?" Judge Milano questioned.

"Yes, Mrs. Ortiz recently obtained her visa to live in the United States. She is planning on taking the children to Albuquerque, New Mexico," Diana answered, handing Mariana's documentation to the Judge.

Gabriella held her breath. Thanks to Kelsi, who had an uncle working in the immigration department of the government, Mariana had been able to get her visa quickly. At first, Gabriella hadn't even considered the fact that they might have to be taken back to Spain. She was thankful as she watched Judge Milano nod in approval.

"And Ms. Alexander, " Judge Milano motioned for her to make her request.

"My client requests that his children remain here in North Carolina, until their mother is found. He requests that they stay at the orphanage downtown, your honor," Katrina requested.

"May I remind you, your honor, that the children's mother abandoned them. The defense has also been unable to produce any evidence on the whereabouts of Mrs. Montez. It could take years to find her. If the children are put into Mrs. Ortiz's care, they will receive the love and safety an orphanage will deprive them of," Diana explained.

"My client worries that Mrs. Ortiz will be unable to properly care for his children due to her age. The orphanage downtown is exceptional," Katrina countered.

"Mrs. Ortiz has been caring for the children for the past 2 months and they have been provided for wonderfully. Mrs. Ortiz is only 66 years old and is in excellent health," Diana rebutted.

"My client is still concerned that in the future, she will be insufficient in providing care."

The room fell silent, as Judge Milano seemed to be pondering the two women's arguments. His eyes fell on Gabriella. Gabriella could have sworn she saw a slight smile cross his face.

"I believe that the Montez children will be well cared for by either their grandmother or in an orphanage. However, I would probably be correct to assume that these children have their own opinions about where they'd like to be. So, Gabriella," he said, leaning forward slightly, "what do you think?"

"I would like very much to be allowed to live with my grandmother, sir." Gabriella answered politely.

"Lucas and Lily?"

"Living with our grandmother would mean everything to us," Lily answered.

"We wouldn't want to live anywhere else." Lucas finished.

Judge Milano smiled, "Then it's decided. I, Mark Milano of the State of North Carolina, officially declare Mrs. Mariana Rivera Ortiz the legal guardian of Gabriella, Lucas and Lily Montez. Ms. Alexander, you may leave. Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Ortiz I need you to stay to finish off some paperwork."

--

20 minutes later, Gabriella, Lucas, Lily and Mariana walked down the hallway to the court's main exit. Mariana had signed all the legal paperwork and she was officially their legal guardian.

It was still raining when the four made their way to the front steps of the courthouse. Though, it wasn't thundering anymore, the wind was stronger than ever. Gabriella put up her umbrella while Mariana did the same, however the strong wind whipped the umbrella from Gabriella's grip and sent it flying through the air, down the steps and into the parking lot. Gabriella watched n horror as the umbrella was swept through the lot, until she could no longer see it.

She felt Lily's hand detach from her own and run under the cover of her grandmother's umbrella, but Gabriella remained unmoving. As the rain fell on her she felt a sense of freedom, literally, wash over her. She didn't care that the rain was soaking her blue blouse or her black skirt. She didn't care that the cold rain was going to send her dark curls into a frizzy mess when they dried. She just didn't care.

Gabriella held her hands out and looked up at the dark sky, letting the rain continue to drench her. Despite the protests of her grandmother, brother and sister, she didn't move.

Gabriella finally realized that the storm wasn't a bad omen. That just because the sun hadn't suddenly started shining when they'd been blessed with the best news of a lifetime, it meant something terrible was about to happen. She realized that the storm had in fact been a good thing all along. The loud thunder was decimating all the terrible that invaded Gabriella's life, while the bright lightning showed all the good that would shine down on her new life. The gust of wind that blew away her umbrella was only there so that Gabriella was able to feel the cool rain's soothing power. The rain washed away any chains that held worries and fears close to Gabriella.

As Gabriella stood on the steps of the courthouse continually getting wetter she had never been happier in her entire life. This was the beginning.

**A/N: Phew. So how'd I do? I didn't include every single witness and all the questioning because that would have taken me way too long and I think I might have bored you all. Hopefully I managed to include enough questioning so you guys actually believed it was a real court room scene. Review with your thoughts! Thanks so much for reading!**

**Oh! I know there were a lot of new characters in this chapter. If you're at all confused, please let me know in your review and I will try to clear it up for you. **


	30. A New Moon

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: DUDE! Has it really been 3 weeks? I didn't even realize it had been THAT long. SORRY! I have an inkling though, that you will like this chapter. Enjoy…**

* * *

_Last Time…_

_As the rain fell on her she felt a sense of freedom, literally, wash over her. She didn't care that the rain was soaking her blue blouse or her black skirt. She didn't care that the cold rain was going to send her dark curls into a frizzy mess when they dried. She just didn't care. _

_Gabriella held her hands out and looked up at the dark sky, letting the rain continue to drench her. Despite the protests of her grandmother, brother and sister, she didn't move. _

_Gabriella finally realized that the storm wasn't a bad omen. That just because the sun hadn't suddenly started shining when they'd been blessed with the best news of a lifetime, it meant something terrible was about to happen. She realized that the storm had in fact been a good thing all along. The loud thunder was decimating all the terrible that invaded Gabriella's life, while the bright lightning showed all the good that would shine down on her new life. The gust of wind that blew away her umbrella was only there so that Gabriella was able to feel the cool rain's soothing power. The rain washed away any chains that held worries and fears close to Gabriella. _

_As Gabriella stood on the steps of the courthouse continually getting wetter she had never been happier in her entire life. This was the beginning. _

Chapter Thirty – A New Moon

"She did _what?_" Chad exclaimed, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I told you, she stood outside in the pouring rain after the court session," Troy explained, _again_.

"But that doesn't sound anything like Gabriella," Kelsi reasoned.

Troy shrugged his shoulders, "That's just what Mariana told me."

"But why?" Zeke wondered.

"That would have totally ruined her clothes and her hair and her make-up! Why would she do that?" Sharpay exasperated.

Troy couldn't help but laugh, "Sharpay, I really don't think Gabriella was concerned about those things."

"You don't think it was odd of Gabriella to do that, do you?" Taylor questioned Troy.

Troy shook his head and paused, thinking, before he answered, "I wouldn't say it was normal Gabriella behavior, but given the circumstances I think that maybe all she wanted was to let everything go. That whole day was so emotional for her – I mean when she called me to tell me what had happened, she was sobbing. I think standing out in the rain was the only way she knew how to express all the emotions she was feeling."

The gang looked shocked at Troy's mini speech. They'd never known that Troy could be so insightful.

"She told you that over the phone didn't she?" Chad questioned skeptically.

"Actually she didn't say anything to me about standing in the rain. Mariana was the one who told me about it. I haven't spoken to Gabriella since she told me about the verdict," Troy defended.

"Wait, is Gabriella really _that_ sick that she can't even talk to you?" Taylor asked, concerned.

"She was just sleeping when I called. I wasn't about to ask Mariana to wake her up, now was I?"

"I still don't understand why we have to wait an extra week to see her," Sharpay pouted.

Troy remained quiet, he didn't really have an answer for Sharpay's latest question. He secretly wondered the same thing, and was truthfully a little angry about it. Gabriella was supposed to be coming back to Albuquerque in 3 days, but now he was going to have to wait another week.

He wasn't quite sure why it bothered him so much that he'd have to wait just one more week extra, after waiting months. He'd spent the last months worrying about her safety, so though he missed her it hadn't been as much as a problem as the worry. Now, however, he knew she was safe he could only miss her and long for her to come back. It was a new feeling for Troy, missing someone so much that an extra week was almost too much to bare. Then again, his whole relationship with Gabriella provided new feelings for Troy.

Kelsi watched as a look of sadness washed over Troy's face and decided to step in,

"Mariana probably can't pack boxes without Gabriella's help, or at least she can't get them done as quickly. So if the packing is delayed, maybe the next moving truck was only available next week," she suggested.

The gang nodded, that answer seemed to be sufficient.

--

The next evening, Troy sat at his kitchen table eating macaroni and cheese for dinner while his mother cleaned the stove.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and hoped that it would be Gabriella calling. He pulled the vibrating phone out of his pocket quickly only to discover it was his sister calling him. Rolling his eyes, he decided that he would call her back after he finished his macaroni and cheese.

Less than a minute later the home phone started ringing. Lucille put down her cloth and picked up the phone,

"Hello?" she answered.

"Oh Nora, it's lovely to hear from you! How are you?" Lucille probed.

Troy started chewing his food faster, so that maybe, just maybe he'd be able to escape the kitchen before his sister asked to talk to him. If she had called his cell phone first and then just after that called his home phone, that meant that she really really wanted to talk to him. And to Troy, that meant something was up.

Despite his fretful stuffing, the food just didn't go down fast enough and before he knew it his mother brought the phone over to him,

"She wants to talk to you."

Troy smiled half-heartedly, only to please his mother. He swallowed his food and answered the phone,

"Hello,"

"_Troy Bolton you have quite a bit of explaining to do," Nora stated immediately. _

"Nora, I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I really have no idea what you're talking about," Troy insisted.

"_So you're telling me that you had no idea Gabriella's father was abusing her?" Nora hissed angrily. _

Troy's eyes widened, how the hell had she come across that information?

"Give me one second Nora," Troy whispered quietly, as he got up from the table and dumped the rest of his dinner in the garbage before putting the bowl in the dishwasher. Quickly, he made his way into his room and shut the door behind him.

"Where did you find out about that?" he demanded.

"_Alex called me," she answered quickly, "but that's beside the point. How could you keep that a secret, do you understand that she could have been killed?"_

"But how did Alex find out?" Troy asked, he wasn't going to answer any of Nora's questions until he figured out how she'd found out.

"_Alex saw something about the court case on the news last night. When I talked to him this afternoon he mentioned it. He wasn't going to say anything, but I couldn't let this go un-talked about," Nora explained. _

Troy frown, _Dammit Alex_

"_Now will you please explain to me why you didn't tell anyone she was being abused. Did you not know? Didn't you care? Why didn't you do anything?" Nora demanded to know. _

"Nora," Tory said seriously, "Of course I care, I care more than you know, but the whole situation is really complicated."

"_I have time," Nora responded bluntly. _

Troy sighed and began to tell his sister the entire story. He started from the very beginning when he had first caught Gabriella from falling down the stairs all the up until his conversation with the gang just the previous night. He explained to her that really he had been powerless most of the time.

Surprisingly Nora stayed quiet through the entire story, listening carefully to each word Troy had to say. Though she was still slightly miffed with her brother for not telling her the truth, she couldn't help but be proud of him. He'd had to deal with so much and she believed he had dealt with it very well. She could hear the concern in his voice as he spoke about Gabriella.

"_I can't believe she did all that for her brother and sister. She must have just been exhausted all the time," Nora commented, "She is an amazing girl Troy, I hope you know that."_

"I know."

"_Where is she going to live when she gets back to Albuquerque?" Nora asked._

"You know the house that the McKelvey's used to live in?"

"_Yeah, the one just around the corner on Spring Hill."_

"That's where they're going to live," Troy answered grinning like a Cheshire cat; that was one of the best things about Gabriella's return. She was going to be living less than a mile away.

"_I bet someone is excited about that," Nora teased. _

"You can't blame me," Troy shot back.

"_What about mom and dad? Do they know?" Nora inquired. _

Troy couldn't hold back his short, dry laugh, "Of course they don't know. "

"_What are you going to tell them when Gabriella comes back with her grandma instead of her father? Hmm," Nora pointed out. _

Troy sighed, "Nora I haven't really thought about that. Maybe mom won't ask about that."

_It was Nora's turn to laugh this time, "Yeah and maybe after that, dad will stop coaching you in basketball, not going to happen. She's going to ask Troy, so you better figure something out."_

"Fine, I'll work on something. But you better not say anything to her in the mean time. OK?"

"_Fine fine, I won't say anything," Nora gave in. _

"Thank you."

"_I guess I'll let you go, I have some med stuff to get back to anyway. You tell Gabi I say hello, ok?"_

"I will, don't worry," Troy promised.

"_Oh and tell her if she ever needs anything she can call me," Nora added. _

"Yes, yes."

"_Good. Ok I'll talk to you later. Bye!"_

"Bye Nora."

Troy hung up the phone, knowing that his sister would stay on the line until the other person hung up. He rubbed his temples as he sat on his bed,

_Great. Nora AND Alex know. Perfect. _

Shaking his head in an attempt to rid his brain of thoughts of telling his mother, Troy realized he was still hungry. He groaned, realizing he had thrown out his macaroni – not that there had been much left of it. He would just have to make himself a sandwich or something.

When he opened his door, he jumped, seeing his mother standing in the doorway.

"Oh!" Troy exclaimed. "Hi mom," his voice became slightly sheepish as he wondered how long she'd been standing there.

"Did you have a nice chat with your sister?" his mother asked.

"Yeah, yeah it was great," Troy answered, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Good," his mother smiled, "Anything you'd like to share with me?"

Troy shook his head, "Not really, just your usual, uh, brother and sister talk."

Mrs. Bolton's eyes narrowed slightly, "Are you _sure?_" she pressed.

"I'm sure," Troy replied, "I was just going to make myself a sandwich, could I make one for you, mom?" Troy asked, swiftly changing the subject, while he tried to get past her.

"Troy," Lucille, held her hand up to stop Troy from passing, "I heard everything."

Troy groaned, "Mom I wanted to tell you and dad, I did, but Gabriella didn't want me to and I-"

Lucille cut her son off, "I think you did the right thing Troy. I think you handled it very well," she said softly.

"You do?" Troy was shocked, he was expecting the worst from his mother.

Lucille nodded seriously, "I do. We are having them over for dinner much more often now though. And we'll have to go over and help them unpack when they get back. You and the boys can go over there to help move all their things in, they'll need some big strong boys like you boys."

"Of course we'll go, mom," Troy promised.

"There is one thing though, what about their mother?" Lucille asked curiously.

"Their mom left them, I told you that," Troy answered.

"I know, but still…" she trailed off.

"She's probably moved on, forgotten them," he speculated.

"Mothers don't just forget Troy. Whether we like it or not, we share a bond with our children forever," Lucille explained to her son seriously.

--

Saturdays were supposed to be the best day of the week. For the gang however, this particular Saturday was not. Today was the day Gabriella _should_ have been coming home. Though no one would admit it, they all felt a sadness knowing that they could have waited one less week to see their friend again.

So today, the gang had decided to spend the entire day together at Meade Memorial Park. All 8 of them had piled into two cars just before lunch time and headed to the park. Troy, being the great expert on this particular park, had led them to the more well known area of the large park, rather than taking them to the pond he had taken Gabriella to.

They'd found a nice spot under a very large oak tree to call base. As soon as the gang had arrived, Chad immediately spotted the basketball courts, which were only a few hundred yards away from 'base'. Naturally the boys had headed, almost immediately, to the courts so they could play some basketball. The girls rolled their eyes and worked on setting out the blankets.

Kelsi had brought her ipod speakers so they could have music streaming the background the entire time. Taylor would have brought her homework, but the rest of the gang had decided on a strict no homework policy for today. Instead she'd brought along Pride and Prejudice to read. Sharpay on the other hand, had opted for all the celebrity and fashion magazines. Kelsi was, as always, writing music. Of course, all the while the girls couldn't help but chat and sing along when their favorite songs came on.

They'd brought an astronomical amount of food to the park, _but_ it did have to last all day with 5 teenage boys. They had one large cooler for drinks. Another for food that needed to be kept cool, like the burgers and hot dogs they'd brought to grill for dinner, then several large bags to keep all the snacks.

Since the girls knew better than to wait until the boys stopped playing basketball to eat, which could be hours, they set out about half of the food before yelling at the boys to come back for lunch.

After lunch, they had decided to play a 4 on 4 game of baseball: Chad, Ryan, Zeke and Kelsi versus Troy, Jason, Taylor and Sharpay. 2 hours, 54 outs, 41 runs, and one intense debate later, the score came out at 21-20 to Troy's team. Much to almost everyone's surprise, Taylor was a fantastic hitter and Sharpay could run like the wind. She claimed that running in sneakers was so much easier than running in heals and that was what made her so fast. Chad tried to convince to join the track team, but she insisted that the drama club already took up far too much time.

After the baseball game the gang just talked, lounged out on the blankets. They talked about everything from trivial things like a silly comment Chad made during math class to serious topics like which colleges they were planning on applying to.

It wasn't long before they started to hear their stomachs growling, hungry for food again. Troy and Chad jumped up and bounded over to the grills so they could get them fired up. Zeke grabbed the hamburgers while Jason got the hotdogs. While the buys grilled the food, Taylor, Sharpay and Kelsi organized a buffet of buns, sides, snacks, condiments and drinks.

Just about a half hour later, the gang was sitting in a circle eating their burgers and hotdogs.

"Mmmm. Aren't these just the most amazing burgers you have ever tasted?" Chad boasted.

"Oh yes of course, nothing else will ever compare to them," Sharpay said sarcastically.

Chad dusted off shoulder, "I know. I got grillin' skills."

Troy coughed loudly.

"Fine fine," Chad rolled his eyes, "We all have grillin' skills."

"Thank you," Troy said smugly.

Kelsi just rolled her eyes, "You guys are so ridiculous. Grilling is easy. You just put the food on and flip them when one side is done. It's not rocket science."

"You're right," Chad responded, "It's not rocket science, it's an art."

"AND! You have to time the flip perfectly to ensure the perfect juiciness," Jason added.

Taylor laughed, "I don't know what we're going to do with you guys."

"Keep us grilling," Chad answered quickly.

"You know what will be even more delicious? Dessert," Zeke reminded his friends.

"Oooo! What did you bring?" Sharpay asked excitedly.

"You'll just have wait and see," Zeke teased.

"Hmph!"

After that, instead of talking as one group, the conversations split up into smaller groups, two or three people chatting amongst themselves.

Soon the gang had finished their dinner and had simply thrown all their garbage in a very large bag in the center of the circle they had formed. However, because they had consumed so much food, the bag was beginning to over-flow.

Taylor, being as organized as she was, decided that they were going to clean up everything from lunch and dinner before they started on dessert. The mess was starting to bother her.

Grumpily, everyone had agreed to help clear up all the plates, plastic wrap, snack bags, cans and other garbage. When Taylor suggest that a few people go clean the grill, Troy immediately jumped up and offered to carry the garbage bag to the nearest garbage can, so that he wouldn't have to clean the grill.

After receiving dirty looks from Chad, Troy tied up the bag and carried it to a garbage can just near the courts. Unfortunately when Troy tried to put the bag in the bin, the bag was too large. It wouldn't go more than half way in.

He slumped back to the tree and told Taylor what had happened,

"The bag is too big, it won't fit in the bin."

"Oh. Well then it's a good thing I took that walk before lunch, now isn't it. I saw a dumpster by the main building. It's past the basketball courts, tennis courts and then there are a couple soccer fields. Oh! And then there was a playground and just after that is the building. You can go dump it there," Taylor answered.

"What" Troy questioned dryly.

Taylor nodded, enthusiastically, shooing him off, "Go. Go!"

Troy heard Chad snickering and shot him a dirty look, before he started off walking.

Soon after Troy had left, the gang finished cleaning up, so they started setting out dessert. The gang huddled around Zeke as he started to unpack the delectable desserts he had brought.

"Now, we're not eating this until Troy gets back," Zeke reminded them.

"Can't we just have a little? It looks so delicious," Jason begged.

Zeke smiled, "Thank you." Then his face turned serious, "But no."

"Pleeeeeease!" Chad pleaded.

Just as Zeke was about so say no again, a familiar voice chimed in from behind them,

"Now that wouldn't be very fair to Troy, would it?"

Every single head, whipped around to make sure the person they were hearing was actually there. Sure enough, she was, with a great grin on her face.

"GABRIELLA!" Sharpay screeched, running towards the brunette, hugging her tightly. Taylor was the next one to scream, "Oh my god!" and run to hug her best friend as well. Kelsi quickly joined in and all four girls were laughing and squealing before the boys even knew what was happening.

"Are we going to get a hug as well?" Chad asked. Kelsi, Taylor and Sharpay looked back,

"Yes you can. Come on."

Sharpay motioned, impatiently, for them to come forward. The girls backed up, slightly, to allow each of the boys to give Gabriella a welcome back hug. As soon as Zeke stepped back from his hug, the girls fired questions at Gabriella.

"What are you doing here?"

"Aren't you supposed to be sick?"

"Why didn't you tell us you were going to be here?"

"How long have you been in town?"

"Are Lucas and Lily here as well?

"And Mariana. Are we finally going to get to meet her?"

"Wait, how'd you know we were here?"

"Woah!" Zeke held up his hands, "Woah, why don't we let her breathe for a minute? Then she'll answer all those questions. Right?"

Gabriella chuckled and nodded, "Let's see if I can get remember all of them. I'm here to see you guys, of course. I wanted to surprise you, so I said I would be coming in a week, but all along I was going to be arriving today."

"So you were never sick?" Taylor clarified.

"Oh no, I was sick, but only for a day. Nothing serious. I just need an excuse," Gabriella answered. "We all got here at about 3, Lucas, Lily and abuela included. After I freshened up and took a shower I went over to Troy's house. His mom told me where you guys were and here I am. Back home at last."

Taylor shook her head, "I still just can't believe you are finally here. You're really here."

"I can't believe it either. I never thought today would come. I have to thank all you guys though. My grandma told me what you guys did, I can't, I can't tell you how thankful I am. I owe you all so much," Gabriella said, expressing her sincerest gratitude.

"No, no. You owe us nothing. We're just glad you're back," Kelsi assured her.

"We've missed you so much. So so much! Especially Tr-" Sharpay cut herself off to gasp, "Where _is _Troy? He should be here! He's going to be so excited!" Sharpay exclaimed.

"He went to throw out the garbage bag," Taylor answered, "He should be back in 10 minutes or so."

"Love cannot wait 10 more minutes!" Sharpay declared dramatically, "Go surprise Troy! Sit on a bench by the basketball courts or something. Take a mental picture of what he looks like!"

Kelsi nodded her head furiously, agreeing with Sharpay completely, "Go! This is going to make him so happy!"

--

Somehow the walk back to the 'base' seemed much longer than the walk to the dumpsters. Troy was probably about half way back, by now. He was almost finished crossing the soccer field. As he walked along he grumbled slightly about the walk and regretted taking this job. Just as he was about to push open the tennis court gate, he muttered,

"What comes around, goes around,"

"Well, now I definitely believe that," a familiar voice came from his left. Troy's legs froze and he whipped his head to the left to see whose body belonged to the voice.

His heart speed up to a million beats a second when he laid his eyes on her. The vibrant colors of the sunset, made Gabriella's skin glow. As she stood up from the bench she had been sitting on, her curls bounced effortlessly.

"Surprise," she offered softly.

"Brie," Troy breathed. Before either of them knew it, Troy's hands were around Gabriella's waist so he could pull her close and envelope her in a hug. He pulled her closer, breathing in the sweet smell of her hair, as he lifted her up off the ground. Gabriella bent her knees and brought her feet to her butt as she nestled her head in the crook of Troy's neck.

When he set her back of the ground, Gabriella pulled back, but Troy kept his hands firmly encircled around her waist. He shook his head in disbelief, _was this really happening?_

"Wh…what? H…How? What are you doing here?" he managed to get out.

"I came to see you," Gabriella answered simply, her eyes twinkling as she studied his features again.

"But I thought-"

Gabriella shook her head, "Our trip wasn't delayed. I just wanted to surprise you. I hope you're not mad I lied to you."

Troy exhaled as he shook his head, "God no. I could never be mad at you. I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too," Gabriella whispered.

He brought his right hand up to her face and caressed her cheek gently as he studied her face, mesmerized by its beauty.

"What?" Gabriella asked shyly, averting her eyes from his, after Troy had been starring at her for quite some time.

"You are so beautiful," Troy whispered. Gabriella looked back up at Troy and smiled shyly.

Gabriella stood up on her tippy toes and pecked a soft, sweet kiss on Troy's lips. "I love you," she murmured.

Troy's lips swooped down and met Gabriella's in a fiery kiss. Usually their kisses were slow and tentative, but this kiss had a sort of desperation to it. While it wasn't rough by any standards, it was certainly more passionate than their other kisses. Gabriella's fingers wove themselves through the back of Troy's hair, while Troy's hand roamed up and down Gabriella's back. Their bodies fit together perfectly as the breath taking kiss took place. Soon, their kisses slowed down, until they were simply pecking each other's lips, neither one wanting to stop, to be the one to stop. Gabriella grinned as Troy's lips pressed against hers when she heard Troy murmur, "I love you too."

--

Later that night, after they had finally rejoined the group, Troy and Gabriella lay on a blanket looking up at the night sky. Gabriella lay perpendicular to Troy, with her head resting on his chest. They'd been lying like that for countless hours, engrossing themselves in the presence of each other. Gabriella described the move and talked about Mariana, Lucas and Lily while Troy listened, cracking jokes from time to time, so he could hear her glorious laugh. Just a little while ago, there had been some tears. Gabriella had done such a great job – or at least she thought she had – of keeping her emotions in check. However, it had all become a little too much for her and tears leaked out, happy tears of course. Troy was much happier hearing her laugh and giggle than watching tears fall down her face.

Now, they both gazed up at the stars, connecting the dots to make pictures. Gabriella pointed up,

"Look a pig! See, there's the head and the body and the curly tail, of course! Do you see it?" she explained happily.

"Mmmm, that looks more like a cow to me," Troy answered.

"A cow!" Gabriella cried, "No way! That is definitely a pig!"

"Whatever you say, but I'm telling you that is a cow," Troy shot back. Gabriella laughed. She couldn't believe she was playing this game, it had been years upon years since she's done this, but more importantly she couldn't believe she was playing this game _with Troy_.

A comfortable silence fell over the pair as their eyes searched the night sky for more pictures. All that Gabriella could hear was Troy's soothing heartbeat.

"It's a new moon tonight," Gabriella remembered aloud.

"Yay?" Troy wasn't sure if that was some great revelation he was supposed to respond to.

"New moons symbolize new beginnings, you know," Gabriella explained quietly, "Everything is changing now."

"Everything is changing for the better now," Troy assured her.

* * *

**A/N: Jeez..that was a long one. I probably should have done something cruel and split it somewhere in the middle, but….I didn't :D. Haha. Hopefully you guys are all happy that Troyella has been reunited!**

**A few nights ago I was working on my homework and I had Pandora streaming. All of a sudden this song starts playing by David Archuleta. As I listen more closely to the lyrics I realize that it is pretty much PERFECT for Troy and his feelings from the time Gabriella left to the time she came back. It's called To Be With You. You should check it out because it's just….it's so amazing. I LOVE it. I wanted to include it in this chapter, but it just didn't work out. I had a version written with that song imbedded in it, but it was so bad that…it was just really really bad. **

**Anyway, I have good news and bad news. Good news or bad news first? If you'd like the bad news first, keep reading. If not, skip to the next paragraph, right now. Bad news: There is only one chapter left.**

**Good news: I'm writing a sequel! There will be more information about the sequel in the next chapter, so look out for it!!**

**Thank you so much for reading! Please review!**


	31. Bliss

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. **

**A/N: I've got three words for you: Junior Year Sucks. I'm so sorry this chapter has been a long time coming, my life has been crazy this month. Before I start though, I have several birthday wishes to give out. Two of my favorite people on FanFiction have their birthdays within the same week! 123Hsmluver's birthday was on Thursday. Then, zvforever's birthday is today! I hope both of you had an incredible day – you both deserve it! Enjoy…**

* * *

_Last Time…_

_A comfortable silence fell over the pair as their eyes searched the night sky for more pictures. All that Gabriella could hear was Troy's soothing heartbeat._

"_It's a new moon tonight," Gabriella remembered aloud. _

"_Yay?" Troy wasn't sure if that was some great revelation he was supposed to respond to. _

"_New moons symbolize new beginnings, you know," Gabriella explained quietly, "Everything is changing now."_

"_Everything is changing for the better." _

Chapter Thirty One - Bliss

It had only been two days since Gabriella's return. Their belongings had finally arrived. Gabriella, Mariana, Lucas and Lily had flown while the moving truck had driven across the country, thus causing the delay.

Today was a big day because today was the day the gang was meeting Mariana for the first time, face to face. The whole gang was coming over to help the Montez family unpack.

As Gabriella pulled a simple t-shirt shirt over her head, she couldn't help but feel nervous about the upcoming day. She knew that her grandmother would love all of her friends, and her friends would love her grandmother. Yet, there was still this feeling of anxiousness that resonated throughout Gabriella's body.

Gabriella watched herself in the mirror as she carefully braided her hair, so it fell on her left shoulder (it was better that her hair stay out of her face for the day).

Maybe what she was really afraid of was that her friends wouldn't like her anymore. Though she'd seen them on Saturday, and had been e-mailing them constantly, she hadn't had to hold a conversation with them for any extended period of time. She was worried that things could be awkward between them.

She shook her head. Why was she working herself up? She should be excited for the day that lay ahead of her, not worried. She refused to let herself be worried.

Just then there was a knock at her door,

"It's open!" Gabriella called out. She heard the door open and Lily came bounding in, holding two ribbons.

"Will you braid my hair for me?" Lily asked hopefully, holding up her two red ribbons.

"Of course. Stand here, "Gabriella positioned her younger sister just in front of her mirror, while Gabriella stood right behind her.

"So Lily are you ready for a hard day of unpacking?" Gabriella asked, as she parted Lily's hair.

"I don't have _that_ much stuff to unpack. I'll probably finish before you!" she exclaimed.

Gabriella laughed, "You probably will, don't forget though, your new furniture is coming today. So you get to decide where that goes in your room."

Lily grinned, "I know! I'm so excited! I can't decide if I want my desk facing the window, or in the corner though."

Gabriella thought for a second as she tied one of Lily's ribbons, "If you put it facing your window, you'd be able to paint the nature as you see it. Right?"

"But what if it gets sunny?" Lily asked worriedly.

"Draw the blinds," Gabriella responded simply shrugging her shoulders. Lily smiled,

"I never thought of that. Good thinking!"

Gabriella grinned, just as she finished tying the other ribbon,

"There! All done!"

Lily turned her head so she could see both her braids. She beamed as she looked up at her sister,

"Thanks Gabi!"

"Anytime. Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Not yet, I was waiting to eat with you," Lily answered.

"Let's go now then, I'm hungry," Gabriella said, motioning for her sister to go downstairs with her.

A few minutes later, Gabriella and Lily were in the kitchen gathering bowls, utensils, cereal and milk. Mariana was already there, making tea for herself and Gabriella. By the time Lucas walked into the kitchen, Gabriella was pouring her Cheerios.

"Morning Luc," Gabriella greeted, "You want Cheerios?"

"Do we have anything else?" he asked hopefully.

"None that I would be willing to pour for you. You could look in the cupboard though." Gabriella suggested. Lucas followed his sister's advice and walked over to the cupboard to search for a sugary cereal.

"Are you excited for today Grandma?" Lily asked Mariana when she sat down at the table.

"Very much so," Mariana grinned.

"Me too!" Lucas chimed in as he sat down at the table with his Lucky Charms, "I've been dying to have _someone_ to play ball against!"

"Gabi and I play with you!" Lily reminded her brother.

"I meant someone good," Lucas replied shortly.

"Hey!" Lily exclaimed. "That's the last time I'm playing basketball with you."

"Fine. I won't you need you anymore now that we're back in town," Lucas shot back.

"Let's not argue guys," Mariana intervened calmly. "What about you Gabriella? Are you excited for today?" Mariana asked, changing the subject

"Of course I am," Gabriella replied quickly. "I mean, naturally, I'm a little nervous about the whole thing, because I want you to like everyone and visa versa, not that I believe that you won't, because I know you're going to like everyone, and when I say you, I mean you abuela, because Lucas and Lily have already met everyone and I know that they get along and-"Gabriella rambled nervously.

"Aye Dios mio Gabriella. Calm down mi cielo," Mariana placed a comforting hand over Gabriella's, "I'm sure everything will go smoothly," she assured Gabriella.

Gabriella smiled weakly, "Yeah," she mumbled, looking down at her cereal

Just then the doorbell rang. Gabriella's head shot up from her bowl as she eyebrows furrowed, "What?" Gabriella whipped her head around, looking for a clock, "They're not supposed to be here until 10! It's only 9:30!"

Lily quickly put more cereal in her mouth, as she looked guilty down at her bowl,

"Uh...I may or may not have answered the phone when Troy called and told him to come at 9:30…" she trailed off.

"Lily!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"I thought it would help!" she defended.

Gabriella sighed, "Sorry, I'm just nervous. It's probably better this way, you're right." She stood up from the table, "I'll be back in a second."

As she walked out of the kitchen and down the front hall to the door, Gabriella smoothed her shirt and quickly patted her hair, to make sure it was in place. As she got close to the door she could see Troy standing outside through the glass side panels. He obviously hadn't seen Gabriella yet, because his back was facing the door and Gabriella could see his hands in his pockets.

He was nervous too, she could tell by his body language. He only put his hands in his pockets if he was nervous.

Finally, she reached the door and pulled it open. Troy whorled around and looked thankful that it was only Gabriella at the door, grinning widely. His charming smile instantly calmed Gabriella as she smiled back at him.

_Why was she nervous again? This boy was going to blow her grandma away. _

Gabriella flung her arms around her boyfriend's neck, hugging him tightly. After a few moments, she released him from her tight grip and looked up at him,

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hi," he replied.

"Come in," Gabriella insisted, motioning for him to step inside. Troy shut the front door behind him after he stepped inside.

Gabriella took his hand and started to lead him into the kitchen, "Everyone is excited to see you," she told him.

"And I'm excited as well," Troy answered, "But I just need to do one thing before we go in there."

Gabriella stopped and looked back at Troy, confused, "And what's that?"

"This," Troy answered simply before he pulled Gabriella back towards him and kissed her sweetly. Although she was shocked at first, Gabriella soon melted into his arms, letting her lips move softly against his. She caught herself smiling, almost giggling, as she kissed him. The best part was that she could feel Troy smiling as well.

The kiss was short because they both knew Gabriella's family was waiting in the kitchen, but even after their lips parted, Troy's hands were still planted firmly on Gabriella's hips,

"I missed you," Troy whispered. Gabriella smiled,

"Me too."

Troy leaned back in, to kiss Gabriella again, but Gabriella promptly giggled a gently pushed Troy's chest back,

"My family is going to start wondering where we are," she giggled.

"So?" Troy muttered, leaning back in to kiss her. Gabriella quickly put her index finger up against his lips.

"So, we'll have plenty of time to do this later. Now come on," Gabriella reminded him, taking his hand again.

"Fine, fine." Troy smiled, following Gabriella into her kitchen. As soon as the couple entered the kitchen, Lily and Lucas got up and ran towards Troy, crashing into him with warm hugs.

"Woah!" Troy exclaimed, laughing and taking a step backwards to steady himself, "It's good to see you guys too."

"You owe me a lot of games," Lucas reminded Troy.

"Oh I do, do I? Well we'll have to get started today if we ever want to catch up. Later, when all the guys are here we can have an intense game," Troy suggested.

"Cool"

"What about you, Miss Lily? All better from that fall?" Troy asked.

"Yup! I'm doing fantastic!" Lily beamed.

"Good to hear," Troy smiled.

By then, Mariana had made her way over to the small group. Lily and Lucas stepped back from Troy, so he could finally meet their grandmother.

Mariana was a small woman, only a few inches taller than Gabriella. Her gray hair was pulled back into a low bun, so it stayed out of her soft, rounded face.

"Abuelita, this is Troy. Troy this is my grandmother," Gabriella introduced gesturing between the pair. Troy held his hand out,

"It's nice to meet you, Señora Ortiz."

"For what you've done for my grandchildren, you may call me Mariana," she insisted taking his hand to shake. Troy nodded.

"It's nice to finally be able to match your voice to a face," Mariana commented, "I'd heard so much about you, but I've never had a face to match it to."

"Same here, Gabriella's told me a lot of good things about you."

"I'm glad it's all good things," Mariana chuckled, "Why don't we sit down and I'll get you some breakfast."

--

Later that afternoon, the entire gang was spread around Gabriella's new house. The boys had been helping Mariana move furniture around, while the girls helped decide on furniture placement and where to hang pictures.

Now, the boys had gone outside to play basketball because most of the heavy-lifting had been completed. They did agree however, to come in and help if they were needed.

All the girls were up in Gabriella's room, helping her unpack her things and arrange her new furniture. Currently, they were piecing together a collage for Gabriella's wall. Gabriella had found old photos from her childhood and Taylor, Sharpay and Kelsi had brought pictures of the gang and their memories. There had to be at least 100 photos on the floor, surrounding a giant cork board. Carefully, the girls were deciding where the pictures should be placed and which ones were the best.

"I'm so jealous of your balcony Gabriella!" Kelsi proclaimed.

"Me too!" Taylor agreed. "It would be fantastic to just sit out there and read all day, wouldn't it?"

"It's perfect for a reenactment of the famous balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet," Sharpay pointed out, "Can't you see it?" she held one hand over her heart and the other out, as she recited the famous lines, "'O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?'"

"Except Gabriella doesn't need a reenactment, she has her own Romeo, who'll be wanting to climb up her balcony," Taylor reminded the girls.

"What? No, I don't think that's going to happen," Gabriella protested.

"You're kidding right?" Sharpay chuckled, "That boy is going to be up and down that tree, which is quite conveniently placed by the way, practically every day."

Gabriella blushed; she really, really, liked the thought of Troy climbing the tree to come see her. Not only did the whole thing relate to Romeo and Juliet, her favorite Shakespeare, but that would mean she could see Troy more often.

"You totally want him to do that don't you?!" Taylor squealed.

Gabriella could feel herself reddening further, "Is that a bad thing?"

"Of course not" Taylor smiled.

"What girl doesn't want her Romeo climbing up her balcony, proclaimed his love for her!" Sharpay declared dramatically.

Gabriella smiled, "I just like the idea of being able to see him whenever I want again. I feel like we've been apart forever sometimes."

"You're back together now right? I doubt Troy plans on going anywhere, anytime soon," Kelsi pointed out.

Gabriella nodded, "And neither do I."

--

Everyone had gone home, except Troy. Troy and Gabriella lay together on top of Gabriella's bed. Gabriella was lying on her stomach, with her legs bent above her, so her feet were almost touching her butt. Troy lay on his side, facing Gabriella as she showed him the collage she'd made with the girls. The large cork board was propped up against the bottom left bedpost, while Troy steadied it with his left hand. Gabriella had been telling Troy about the pictures they'd used in the collage.

"Why on earth do you have green paint all over you, in this one?" Troy questioned, smirking.

Gabriella buried her face in her hands, in embarrassment, "You know Toy Story?" she asked Troy, lifting her head, only slightly, from her hands to peek at Troy.

"Yeah, I used to watch that all the time."

"Do you remember the green aliens?"

Troy nodded.

"That was my favorite part of the movie. I really wanted to be a green alien," Gabriella began, "So, one day after I'd watched Toy Story, I went into our craft closest, got out the green paint we had and started painting myself – the idea being that I would turn into a one of the aliens because I was green," she confessed.

Troy burst out laughing.

"I was four!" Gabriella tried to defend herself.

"I think I love you a little but more now," Troy laughed, "You were clearly an amazing kid."

"Now don't tell me Little Troy didn't do silly things."

"Oh trust me, I was a handful of a kid. I did the normal trouble maker stuff, you know drawing on everything – the walls were my favorite. I thought I could fly, so I jumped off my dresser. And Chad and I, don't even get me started on the things we did as kids," Troy explained, "But when I was 4, my dad let me watch Batman, you know the one from 1989 with Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton?"

"He let you watch that?" Gabriella sounded shocked.

"Mmhmm," Troy nodded.

"Wow."

"Yeah, so I watched it and I became absolutely obsessed with Batman. I wanted batman everything, batman clothes, batman bedding, batman action figures, everything. Eventually, my parents saw a batman costume in a store and bought it for me. I loved that costume and instead of putting on my regular clothes one day, I put on my batman costume. My parents didn't think much of it, until I refused to wear anything else."

"How long did that last, a week?" Gabriella asked, not really impressed with his story.

"7 months," Troy answered quickly.

"What?" Gabriella questioned skeptically.

"You heard right, 7 whole months," Troy stated proudly.

"And your parents allowed that?" she asked in disbelief, shifting onto her side, so she was facing Troy.

"Well eventually they started to get worried. They tried taking it away, but I would just keep taking off any clothes they put on me. I was a stubborn little kid."

"Why'd you suddenly stop wearing it then, Mr. Stubborn?"

"Alex said I wouldn't be allowed to play on the big kid's basketball team," Troy said quietly.

Gabriella smirked, "Of course," she laughed, "That would do it for you, wouldn't it?"

"You know it," Troy replied cockily

Gabriella shook her head, laughing quietly to herself. She let herself fall gently back onto the bed, this time on her back.

"So this is what you guys were doing all day?" Troy asked curiously as he carefully placed the large collage on the floor.

"Not _all_ day, just most of the day. We spent a lot time on it, but we also arranged the furniture and discussed my balcony," she answered.

"Your balcony hmmm?" Troy wondered aloud.

Gabriella propped herself up on her side again, mirroring Troy.

"Mmhmm. Apparently, you are going to be making a daily trip up the conveniently placed tree to come see me," Gabriella explained.

"I don't know Brie, that's a lot of physical labor…" Troy trailed off, rolling on to his back.

"But it's for me," Gabriella whispered in a sing-song voice as she inched closer to Troy.

Troy turned his head to look at Gabriella, "I was being sarcastic, of course I'm going to be climbing that brilliantly placed tree. I saw it while we were outside and I've spent the rest of the day figuring out how I'm going to climb it."

"Do you think it'll be easy?" she asked.

"Pssh, I'll be fine. I'm a pro tree climber," Troy assured her.

"Good to know," Gabriella smiled moving, yet again, closer to Troy until her head was resting on his chest. She let her arm drape over his stomach and she closed her eyes contently.

Troy was truthfully a little bit surprised by Gabriella's actions. He knew Gabriella loved him just as much as he loved her, but she was never the type to be overly affectionate, or at least initiate it. Though he still saw the Gabriella he had known lying on him, there was this more confident Gabriella imbedded within her.

"You're different," he murmured.

Gabriella's eyes snapped open and she quickly pushed herself up, so she was sitting, "What do you mean?" she asked fretfully. What If her worst fear had come true? Troy didn't want her anymore?

"No, no, no," he said quickly, sitting up, as he saw disappointment flash across Gabriella's face, "I didn't mean it in a bad way."

Gabriella still looked confused and scared.

"I mean," Troy began slowly, taking Gabriella's hand, "that I used to look at you and see worry written all over your eyes, even when you were happiest. But now all that worry has disappeared. You just seem happier."

Gabriella smiled, "You know this morning I was nervous about you guys coming over. I wasn't sure if it was that I was worried you wouldn't like me anymore or that you wouldn't get along with my family. But then I saw you when I answered the door and as cliché as it sounds, all my worry, it just washed away," she explained softly, "It's you, who has managed to make me feel this…feel this bliss. I'm so happy now and I wouldn't be if it wasn't for you. You saved me from everything Troy and I don't know how I can ever thank you enough."

"I get to see you happy everyday now Gabriella, that's more than enough for me," Troy whispered, closing the gap between them, capturing her lips in a sweet, passionate kiss.

The End

* * *

**A/N: Guys…that was last chapter :( All you authors out there know that we're just as sad to see a story end as you readers are. I want to thank all my faithful readers again, I know my updating schedule is terrible, but I'm so thankful that you have stuck with me! **

**I have good news though, there WILL be a sequel. I don't want to give too much away but you're going to meet some new characters as well as see some old ones. It's going to kick off after the summer, so the beginning of the gang's senior year. I'm going to be trying something new though this time around. I'm going to try to get 3 or 4 chapters written before I start posting the story. Hopefully this will allow my updates to become more regular. HOWEVER, that does mean you'll have to wait a little bit to see the story. Truthfully, I don't picture posting until January, maybe even after that….I know it sounds far off, but it's really not. It's already November and we all know December flies by. Just keep your eyes peeled!**

**Thank you again for all your support! I wouldn't have been able to do this without you!**

**~HSMLUVER218**


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